UC-NRLF 


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AHEI^A'S 
STAKE 

IN  THE 

FAR  EAST 


Charles  Harvey  Fahs 


GIFT  OF 


EI 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

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WORLD   PROBLEM  DISCUSSION  SERIES 

AMERICA'S  STAKE  IN 
THE  FAR  EAST 


CHARLES  HARVEY  FAHS 


ASSOCIATION    PRESS 

New  York:    347   Madison    Avbnub 
1920 


-v 


^ 


v:>  ^ 


^-b 


Copyright,  1920,  by 

The  International  Committee  of 

YotwQ  Men's  Christun  Associations 


'  »•  •  • 
• .  •  •  • 
».•  •  •    • 


PREFACE 

Many  who  are  alert  to  the  present  world  situation  feel  that  the 
Far  East  constitutes  at  this  time  one  of  the  areas  of  extraordinary 
strain  and  that  the  whole  group  of  issues  which  make  up  the  com- 
plexus  often  designated  as  the  Far  Eastern  problem  requires  a  wide- 
spread, dispassionate,  and  understanding  discussion  in  America. 

It  is  not  easy,  amid  the  engrossing  interests  and  duties  that  are 
close  at  hand,  for  us  to  see  clearly  the  various  issues  involved  in  such 
a  problem,  and  especially  to  see  those  issues  in  their  interlocking 
aspects.  Whatever  thinking  we  might  be  able  to  do  about  the 
problem,  moreover,  is  discouraged  by  propaganda  which  tends  to 
confuse  us.  Consequently,  many  assume  that  such  questions  must 
be  left  entirely  to  the  experts,  in  the  belief  that  there  is  no  chance  for 
the  formation  of  an  intelligent  and  effective  public  opinion  with 
respect  to  the  larger  world  problems.  America's  attitude  on  inter- 
national affairs,  however,  should  be  the  concern  of  every  citizen,  and 
it  must  be  possible  to  present  these  subjects  in  ways  which  will  lead 
to  illuminating  and  profitable  discussion  and  ultimately  to  trust- 
worthy social  judgments. 

As  will  be  discovered  on  examination,  this  book  is  not  a  treatise 
on  the  Far  Eastern  problem.  It  consists  simply  of  questions  to 
open  up  those  issues  involved  which  are  likely  to  be  of  most  inter- 
est to  the  American  public,  the  questions  in  each  chapter  being 
followed  by  reference  quotations  setting  forth  the  essential  facts  and 
the  principal  viewpoints  held  with  reference  to  the  major  questions 
raised.  To  read  through  the  questions  and  reference  material 
would  provide  some  basis  for  the  personal  opinion  of  an  individual. 
If  such  thinking  can  be  still  further  clarified  by  discussion  and  com- 
parison of  personal  viewpoints  in  a  group  or  forum  with  other 
individuals  who  are  also  trying  to  find  their  way,  more  progress  can 
be  made. 

Two  chapters  might  well  have  been  added  to  the  book :  one  on 
the  Japanese  problem  in  Hawaii,  and  the  other  on  the  interrelation 
of  American  interests  in  the  Far  East  and  those  of  other  predomi- 
nantly Anglo-Saxon  national  groups,  such  as  Canada,  New  Zealand, 
and  Australia,  self-governing  commonwealths  of  the  British  Empire 
whose  territories  border  on  or  are  in  the  Pacific. 

Every  day's  newspaper  brings  to  notice  new  or  shifting  aspects 
of  the  Far  Eastern  situation,  and  it  is  probable  that  a  few  questions 
and  quotations  will  be  out  of  date  before  the  volume  is  long  in  print. 
It  is  believed,  however,  that  for  the  most  part  both  questions  and 

iii 


435824 


IV 


PREFACE 


reference  selections  bear  on  the  more  permanent  features  of  the 
problem. 

An  effort  has  been  made  to  avoid  implying  answers  expected  to 
questions  asked.  The  major  question  as  to  whether  the  Christian 
ideals  and  dynamic  will  in  the  end  provide  a  way  out  of  the  most 
baffling  difficulties  in  the  situation  has  been  raised  repeatedly,  now  in 
one,  now  in  another  form,  in  these  pages.  Confessedly  special 
emphasis  has  been  laid  on  this  issue.  If  the  answer  of  Christian 
idealism,  with  its  implied  summons  to  life  purpose  and  life  service, 
be  not  found  acceptable,  then  some  more  promising  solution  must  be 
suggested.  In  this  respect  the  book  reflects  an  issue  which  has  been 
inescapably  drawn  for  us  by  recent  world  tendencies  and  events. 

The  forming  and  ordering  of  the  questions  have  been  done  with 
the  skilled  cooperation  of  Mr.  Harrison  S.  Elliott,  whose  wide  ex- 
perience in  guiding  discussion  groups  and  whose  resultant  sense  of 
need  for  the  production  of  effective  tools  for  the  use  of  such  classes 
led  in  the  first  instance  to  the  preparation  of  the  book. 

There  may  fairly  be  claimed  for  the  work  the  advantages  accru- 
ing from  months  of  careful  research,  for  the  most  part  amid  the 
resources  of  the  Missionary  Research  Library  of  New  York  City, 
and  from  such  insight  as  has  been  gained  from  a  lifelong  interest 
in  the  Far  East.  Two  journeys,  each  all  too  short,  to  Japan,  Korea, 
and  China,  one  made  shortly  before  the  beginning  of  the  World 
War  and  one  just  before  its  close,  have  also  been  of  high  value. 

Charles  Harvey  Fahs. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface iii 

I.  Is  Japan  Becoming  a  Menace  to  the  Peace  of  the 

World? i 

II.    How  Far  Has  Japan  Become  the  Dominating  Force 

IN  the  Far  East  ? 12 

III.  Should  Japan  Be  Allowed  Increasingly  to  Domi- 

nate THE  Far  East? 24 

IV.  How  Can  America  Safeguard  Her  Trade  Relations 

with  the  Orient  ? 36 

V.    What  Hope  Is  There  That  China  Can  Be  Saved  as 

A  Nation? •    48 

VI.     How  Much   Has    China   a    Right   to   Expect   of 

America  ? 60 

VII.    Is  Japan's  Sovereignty  in  Korea  a  Benefit  or  a 

Menace  to  the  Orient? 72 

VIII.    What  Attitude  Should  America  Take  toward  Ko- 
rea's Desire  for  Independence  ? 84 

IX.    What  Bearing  Has  American  Control  of  the  Phii^ 

ippines  upon  the  Destiny  of  the  Far  East  ? 96 

X.  How  Far  Does  the  Numerical  Strength  of  the 
Yellow  Race  Constitute  a  Problem  in  the  Pa- 
cific Basin? 108 

XI.    What  Chance  Is  There  that  the  Yellow  Race  Will 
Equal  or  Surpass  the  White  Race  in  Leadership 

in  the  World  ? 120 

XII.    What  Attitude  Should  America  Take  toward  the 

Yellow  Race? 132 

XIII.  Who  Will  Control  the  Pacific  Basin? 144 

XIV.  What  Is  the  Solution  of  the  Far  Eastern  Problem?  156 
Most  Useful  Books  and  Periodicals 169 


CHAPTER  I 

IS  JAPAN  BECOMING  A  MENACE  TO  THE 
PEACE  OF  THE  WORLD? 

I.  What  does  the  world  think  of  Japan?     Why? 

1.  In  various  parts  of  the  world  the  traveler  not  infrequently 
hears :  "I  don't  trust  the  Japanese" ;  or,  "I  hate  the  Japanese." 
Why  are  the  Japanese  so  disliked  and  distrusted  ?  How  far  is 
this  dislike  due  to  prejudice;  how  far  is  it  well  founded? 

2.  Which  of  the  following  would  you  consider  the  chief  causes  of 
this  feeling:  Japanese  racial  peculiarities;  jealousy  over  Japan's 
rapid  rise  in  power;  faulty  ethical  practices  in  business  or  in 
other  ways  on  the  part  of  the  Japanese;  an  overweening  Jap- 
anese sense  of  international  destiny? 

3.  To  what  extent  are  you  led  to  believe  that  international 
opinion  of  Japan  is  being  formulated  on  the  basis  of  her  pro- 
cedure in  China,  Korea,  and  Siberia? 

4.  What  evidence  is  there  that  the  people  in  America  have 
experienced  this  same  uneasy  attitude  of  mind  towards  the 
Japanese  ?  How  did  they  come  by  it  ?  To  what  extent  do  you 
feel  that  opinion  in  other  parts  of  the  United  States  reflects  that 
in  California? 

II.  What  danger  is  there,  i£  any,  that  Japan  will  become  a 

menace  to  the  United  States  and  to  the  welfare  of  the 
Far  East? 

1.  What  evidence  is  there  that  the  military  and  imperialistic  party 
has  been  shaping  the  policy  of  Japan?  How  far  has  Japan's 
policy  thus  far  tended  to  Prussianize  the  Far  East? 

2.  To  what  extent  has  democracy  obtained  a  foothold  in  Japan  ? 
What  likelihood  is  there  that  the  group  in  Japan  working 
against  militarism  and  autocracy  and  for  a  more  liberal  policy 
will  win? 

3.  What  are  the  imperial  ambitions  of  Japan  ?  In  what  ways,  if 
any,  are  these  likely  to  clash  with  those  of  other  powers  and  to 
threaten  the  peace  of  the  world  ? 

4.  Where  and  on  what  issues  would  Japan  and  the  United  States 
be  most  likely  to  clash  ?    What  is  the  likelihood  of  such  a  clash  ? 

I 


^  :  .^MERiC;4LiS  :SJAKE  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

5.     In  what  ways  would  the  triumph  of  military  and  imperialistic 
policy  jeopardize  the  largest  and  noblest  future  for  Japan? 

In  what  ways  would  a  militaristic  policy  in  Japan  pave  the 
way  for  another  world  war  ? 

III.    How  have  America  and  the  other  nations  hindcired  and 
how  helped  the  liberalization  o£  Japan? 

What  occasion,  if  any,  has  Japan  had  to  fear  the  United 
States? 

In  her  modernization  what  nations  have  had  the  most  influ- 
ence?   In  what  ways  has  each  influenced  Japan? 

How  can  the  liberal  movement  in  Japan  be  helped  by  other 
countries?  Take  into  consideration  the  effect  of  sentiment  in 
America,  the  impact  of  travelers  and  traders  from  the  west, 
the  influence  of  educational  and  other  missionary  work. 

REFERENCE  MATERIAL 
Estimates  of  the  Japanese  People 

The  Japanese,  like  yourselves,  are  human  beings — subject  to  all 
the  wants  and  frailties  of  our  common  humanity — loving  and  courting 
love — aspiring  and  falling — sinning  and  being  sinned  against — but  knit 
together  by  a  few  underlying  principles  of  far-reaching  worth,  among 
which  are  loyalty,  the  capacity  for  self-sacrifice,  and  the  enthronement  of 
knightly  honor  as  the  supreme  rule  of  life.  .  .  .  The  Japanese  people  of 
this  day  and  generation  have  inherited  from  their  sires  these  ethical 
standards,  and  in  their  relations  to  the  outside  world,  they  are  doing  what 
is  humanly  possible  to  realize  them.  .  .  . 

Japan  has  not  escaped  the  fire  of  doubt  and  denunciation  with  which 
the  world  resounds.  Her  motives  are  questioned,  her  policies  criticized, 
and  her  purest  aspirations  scouted  as  criminal  and  sordid.  She  has  been 
branded  as  the  Yellow  Peril,  the  Robber  of  China,  the  despoiler  of 
Korea,  the  standing  menace  to  the  peace  and  well-being  of  her  neighbors. 
And  yet  I  .  .  .  solemnly  declare — in  no  spirit  of  either  bravado  or  apology 
— that  Japan  is  conscious  of  rectitude  in  her  attitude  towards  the  nations 
and  peoples  of  all  the  world.  She  has  been  scrupulously  faithful  in  the 
observance  of  all  international  engagements,  whether  in  the  form  of 
treaty,  covenant,  or  understanding.  She  has  borne  insult  and  humiliation 
in  order  to  make  good  her  plighted  word. — Viscount  Kikujiro  Ishii, 
Japan  Review,  November,  1919,  pp.  9,  10. 

Is  it  not  a  fact  that  not  only  in  Chosen  [Korea],  but  in  China,  in 
America,  in  Australia,  everywhere,  this  selfish  imperialism  of  Japan 
has  as  its  shadow  the  so-called  anti-Japanese  sentiment  ?    Before  we  hate 


JAPAN  A  MENACE  TO  PEACE  OF  WORLD?    3 

the  shadow  it  is  necessary  to  look  at  ourselves.  The  ideals  and  prin- 
ciples under  which  Japan  has  gone  forward  are  expressed  in  the  familiar 
phrases,  "Shed  the  national  glory  abroad";  "greatly  extend  our  terri- 
tory"; "rule  the  world";  and  other  such  expressions.  The  result  is  that 
our  neighbors  have  become  anti-Japanese  and  today  on  all  sides  barriers, 
invited  by  ourselves,  are  being  raised  against  us. — Takashi  Suzuki, 
Missionary  Review  of  the  World,  September,  1919,  p.  661. 

The  Japanese  is  not  worse  than  other  men.  We  may  dismiss  at 
once  the  charges  of  trickiness  and  untrustworthiness  which  we  have  un- 
consciously trumped  up  against  him  in  defense  of  our  race-exclusive- 
ness.  Such  charges  have  the  usual,  and  no  more  than  the  usual,  justifica- 
tion. The  salient  facts  are  that  the  Japanese  are  in  the  ascending  phase 
of  race  assertion,  that  they  are  led  with  singular  sagacity,  that  they  have 
certainly  no  more  and  possibly  somewhat  less  scruple  about  race-en- 
croachment than  other  civilized  races  of  our  day,  and  finally  that  there  is 
between  us  no  cushion  of  kinship  or  common  culture  to  lessen  the  shock 
of  race  collision. — ^Harry  H.  Powers,  "America  among  the  Nations," 
p.  213. 

While  not  blind  to  the  faults  of  the  Japanese,  I  deplore  .  .  .  indis- 
criminate condemnation  of  them.  If  they  are  not  the  lovely  fairies  that 
Lafcadio  Hearn  pictures  them,  neither  are  they  the  "varnished  savages" 
that  Price  Collier  called  them.  From  the  huge  mass  of  available  data  it  is 
not  difficult  to  make  a  selection  that  will  apparently  support  almost  any 
preconceived  idea.  But  conclusions  obtained  in  that  way  are  one-sided. 
They  leave  some  facts  out  of  account,  and  state  others  in  ways  which 
make  them  appear  more  unfavorable  than  they  really  are.  If  one  is  to 
err  at  all,  it  is  better  to  do  so  on  the  side  of  charity,  to  magnify  good 
qualities  rather  than  to  minimize  them.  It  is  unreasonable  to  expect 
an  Asiatic  people  to  exemplify  within  sixty  years  standards  of  Christian 
character  and  conduct  which  Europe  and  America  but  imperfectly 
exemplify  after  fifteen  hundred  years.  The  Japanese  have  many  fine 
qualities.  They  also  have  some  grave  defects.  So  have  we.  It  is  easy 
to  pick  out  flaws  in  any  people  under  heaven,  including  our  own.  After 
all,  the  Japanese  are  human  beings  like  ourselves,  and  in  thinking  of 
them  we  may  well  remember  the  words  of  the  poet  Bailey:  "Men  might 
be  better  if  we  better  deemed  of  them." — ^Arthur  J.  Brown,  "The  Mastery 
of  the  Far  East,"  pp.  242,  243. 

The  old  belief  that  the  Japanese  are  a  race  of  diminutive  supermen 
dies  hard,  but  dying  it  is.  The  Japanese  are  an  extremely  brave  and 
brainy  nation.  .  .  .  They  have  in  a  very  short  space  of  time  adopted  the 
habits  and  customs  of  the  Occident,  and  tacked  them  on  to  their  own. 
They  are  .  .  .  just  humans  with  human  faults  and  human  virtues.  They 
have  a  high  code  of  military  ethics,  and  a  supreme  but  painfully  modern 


4  AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

sense  of  patriotism.  Their  moral  sense  is  low,  they  are  not  industrious, 
their  intelligence  is  imitative'  but  not  initiative,  whilst  their  ambition  is 
blended  with  an  unfortunate  aggressiveness  and  a  deplorable  sensitive- 
ness.— ^Andrew  M.  Pooley,  "J^P^^  ^t  the  Cross  Roads,"  p.  20. 

The  net  judgment  with  which  we  returned  to  America,  after  three 
visits  during  seven  months,  is  a  judgment  of  increased  respect  for  Japan 
and  for  what  she  has  achieved,  and  a  deepened  confidence  in  the  worthy 
and  better  elements  of  Japanese  life  and  character.  There  are  circles 
both  in  the  East  and  in  the  West  in  which  it  is  almost  as  much  as  a 
man's  life  is  worth  to  express  such  a  judgment  as  this,  so  deep  is  the 
feeling  of  racial  distrust  of  the  Japanese  and  of  suspicion  of  their  political 
and  commercial  ambitions.  .  .  . 

No  one  can  complain  of  fair  and  discriminating  judgments,  but 
what  frightens  one  in  much  of  the  prejudice  against  the  Japanese  is  its 
unfairness  and  its  lack  of  discrimination.  Courses  of  action  pursued  by 
America  or  Great  Britain  or  Germany  are  viewed  and  judged  in  an 
entirely  different  light  from  similar  courses  of  action  pursued  by  Japan. 
Japan's  conduct  is  often  considered  a  matter  of  mere  political  expediency 
or  a  cover  of  sinister  purposes,  while  wrong  done  by  Western  nations  is 
too  often  condoned  or  lamented  with  soft  judgments.  Wrong  and  right 
are  not  affected  by  degrees  of  longitude.  Evil  or  unworthy  actions  on 
the  part  of  the  Japanese  ought  to  be  judged  on  precisely  the  same  basis 
as  that  on  which  a  Western  race  or  nation  would  be  judged,  unless  the 
latter  be  held  to  a  stricter  accountability  because  of  their  fuller  light. — 
Robert  E.  Speer,  Missionary  Review  of  the  World,  July,  1916,  p.  517. 

American  Opinion  of  Japan 

I  have  touched  the  mind  of  the  country  in  cities  and  villages  in  the 
east  and  middle  west.  I  do  not  think  it  too  much  to  say  that  there  is  a 
general  suspicion  of  the  motives  and  program  of  Japan.  The  Japanese 
course  at  the  Peace  Conference,  whatever  it  may  have  accomplished 
diplomatically,  has  undoubtedly  cost  that  country  the  confidence  of  the 
American  public.  .  .  . 

One  simple  idea  seems  to  have  taken  possession  of  America's  mass 
consciousness.  It  believes  that  Japan  is  the  Germany  of  the  East.  One 
does  not  have  to  suggest  this  idea.  Everywhere  one  is  asked  if  it  does 
not  explain  most  of  the  things  that  are  now  happening  in  the  Orient. 
And  it  will  take  more  than  fair  words  and  high  banqueting  to  wipe  it  out. 

It  is  likely,  of  course,  to  take  some  time  for  this  feeling  to  reach  the 
point  where  it  demands  action.  The  United  States  is  thoroughly  sick  of 
foreign  trouble.  The  seventy  thousand  dead  who  lie  in  France  form  a 
wholesome  check  to  precipitate  action  in  any  quarter  of  the  world.  But 
with  the  passage  of  time,  especially  if  proofs  of  Japan's  imperialism 
accumulate,  belief  that  China  and  Korea  are  being  exploited  for  the 


JAPAN  A  MENACE  TO  PEACE  OF  WORLD?    5 

benefit  of  an  archaic  militarism  will  lead  to  belief  that  such  a  policy 
cannot  be  permitted  in  a  sphere  where  the  interests  of  the  United  States 
are  as  great  as  they  are  in  the  Pacific. — "P.  H.,"  China  Christian  Ad- 
vocate, September,  1919,  p.  7. 

When  you  ask  .  .  .  why  the  affection  for  the  Chinese  and  the  hatred 
for  the  Japanese — there  is  a  good  deal  of  selfishness  and  human  weak- 
ness mixed  up  in  the  answer.  The  Chinaman  is  not  ambitious  in  a 
worldly  way.  The  Japanese  is.  The  Chinaman  does  not  want  to  own 
land  in  America.  He  does  not  leave  his  employers  suddenly  and  without 
warning  to  take  a  more  lucrative  job  or  go  into  business  for  himself. 
According  to  the  California  appraisal  of  character  and  traits,  the  Jap- 
anese is  the  direct  opposite  of  all  these  things  which  make  the  Chinese 
welcome.  .  .  .  Nothing  here  written  on  the  subject  is  in  any  way  an 
attempt  at  expression  of  personal  opinion  or  prejudice  for  or  against  the 
Japanese  or  Chinaman.  It  is  merely  the  report  of  what  seems  to  be 
practically  unanimous  opinion  throughout  the  state.  It  is  the  opinion  of 
such  men  as  Benjamin  Ide  Wheeler  and  Senator  Phelan,  of  shipping  men, 
bankers,  merchants,  gardeners,  and  farmers.  Frequently  the  opinion  is 
expressed  with  an  apologetic  admission  that  fear  of  the  Japanese  is  based 
chiefly  on  the  feeling  that  the  Japanese  are  much  more  clever  than  the 
Americans. — Charles  A.  Selden,  New  York  Times,  January  25,  1920. 

Militarism  in  Japan 

Japan's  success  in  the  Russo-Japanese  War  did  not  insure  the  peace 
of  the  Far  East ;  now  ten  years  later  Japan  has  attacked  and  defeated  the 
Germans  in  order  to  insure  that  peace.  But  no  sooner  has  she  defeated 
the  Germans  than  she  finds  it  necessary  to  fall  upon  the  Chinese,  likewise 
to  "insure  peace."  The  process  is  cumulative.  The  peace  of  the  Far 
East  will,  it  would  appear,  only  be  assured  when  there  is  no  one  left  to 
disturb  Japan's  peace  of  mind;  that  is,  when  all  of  Japan's  rivals  for 
commercial  and  political  influence  have  been  eliminated.  And  then, 
when  the  peace  of  the  Far  East  has  been  established  to  Japan's  satisfac- 
tion— what  about  the  peace  of  the  world? — Stanley  K.  Hornbeck,  "Con- 
temporary Politics  in  the  Far  East,"  p.  300. 

It  is  specially  to  be  deplored  that  such  a  reactionary  spirit,  largely 
influenced  by  the  political  theories  of  German  writers,  had  played  on 
the  mind,  when  the  constitution  was  being  framed  by  government  leaders. 
It  was  in  those  days  of  the  8o's  that  the  cry  of  "Preserve  the  best  of 
Japan"  or  "Japan  for  the  Japanese"  was  loudly  proclaimed.  Magazines 
and  books  were  published  for  the  spread  of  the  propaganda.  This  con- 
siderably hampered  the  Anglo-Saxon  influence  of  earlier  days  as  well 
as  the  religious  work  of  missionaries,  which  was  moving  on  by  leaps 
and  bounds. 

The  universities  had  been  most  influenced  by  German  ideas  of 


6  AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

Kultur.  The  army,  which  was  at  first  modeled  after  the  French  army, 
had  been  gradually  Germanized.  German  methods,  with  their  exact 
precision  and  comprehensive  organization,  strongly  appealed  to  the  young 
minds  of  Japan,  as  they  had  to  not  a  small  number  of  Americans  before 
the  war.  Japanese  students  flocked  to  the  German  universities,  and  later 
accepted  the  important  positions  in  the  Government  and  in  the  institu- 
tions of  higher  learning.  But  the  compelling  cause  for  the  collapse  of 
the  Anglo-Saxon  democratizing  influence  was  Japan's  discovery  of  her 
own  danger,  both  political  and  economic.  The  governments  of  Europe 
she  saw  organized  on  a  basis  of  force,  rather  than  of  right.  She  saw 
them  engaged  in  world-wide  rivalry  for  the  possession  of  those  countries 
which  were  weak,  backward,  and  unable  to  defend  themselves  from 
European  aggressors.  The  native  peoples  of  the  Americas,  of  Africa, 
of  south  and  north  Asia  and  of  all  the  Pacific  Ocean  had  already  been 
swallowed  up  by  the  aggressive  white  races  of  Europe.  In  the  Far 
East  China  and  Japan  alone  remained  unappropriated. 

This  discovery  brought  a  horrible  chill  to  every  thoughtful  Japanese. 
Not  her  intrinsic  civilization,  nor  her  attainments  in  appreciating  the 
moral,  intellectual,  and  political  achievements  of  the  most  advanced 
nations  of  the  West,  would  of  themselves  alone  protect  her  from  the 
engulfing  swirl  of  European  militaristic  domination.  Only  by  her  own 
military  might  could  she  hope  to  confront  their  military  might  and 
maintain  her  independent  life.  Even  most  of  those  who  through  the 
70's  and  8o*s  had  been  liberal  leaders,  since  1890  had  at  least  acquiesced 
in  the  rise  of  the  new  militarism  of  Japan.  They  said  that  "prepared- 
ness" was  essential  to  safety  in  such  a  world  as  Europe  had  created. — 
President  Tasuku  Harada,  Doshisha  University,  Japan  Review^  February, 
1920,  p.  105. 

A  certain  Japanese  writer  stated  not  long  ago  with  startling  frank- 
ness .  .  .  that  "a  united,  awakened,  organized,  efficient  China  is  a  menace 
to  the  very  existence  of  Japan."  That  statement,  while  in  a  sense  the 
very  essence  of  reality,  is,  by  the  light  of  dawning  world  peace,  the 
pathetic  negation  of  truth.  Consider  the  reverse  side  of  the  statement — 
a  China  disintegrated,  demoralized,  and  wholly  subservient  to  Japanese 
domination — would  that  mean  a  great  destiny  for  Japan?  In  the  first 
place,  it  suggests  a  parting  of  the  ways  with  world  democracy.  It  means 
a  program  autocratic,  materialistic,  and  militaristic  to  the  last  degree. 
Its  logical  goal  would  be  the  complete  subjection  and  reorganization  of 
China's  countless  laborers  and  resources  under  Japanese  overlordship  as 
a  vast  industrial  foundation  for  Japanese  military  power.  Imagine  its 
limits,  if  you  can. — ^Jackson  Fleming,  Asia,  August,  1918,  pp.  636,  637. 

To  the  Japanese  themselves,  I  venture  to  repeat  words  that  I  wrote 
over  eleven  years  ago.  They  are  even  more  true  now  than  when  they 
were  written : 


JAPAN  A  MENACE  TO  PEACE    OF  WORLD?        7 

"The  future  of  Japan,  the  future  of  the  East,  and,  to  some  extent, 
the  future  of  the  world,  lies  in  the  answer  to  the  question  whether  the 
militarists  or  the  party  of  peaceful  expansion  gain  the  upper  hand  in  the 
immediate  future  (in  Japan).  If  the  one,  then  we  shall  have  harsher 
rule  in  Korea,  steadily  increasing  aggression  in  Manchuria,  growing 
interference  with  China,  and,  in  the  end,  a  titanic  conflict,  the  end  of 
which  none  can  see.  Under  the  other,  Japan  will  enter  into  an  inheri- 
tance, wider,  more  glorious,  and  more  assured  than  any  Asiatic  power 
has  attained  for  many  centuries.  .  .  .  Japan  has  it  in  her  to  be,  not 
the  Mistress  of  the  East,  reigning,  sword  in  hand,  over  subject  races — for 
that  she  can  never  permanently  be — but  the  bringer  of  peace  to,  and  the 
teacher  of,  the  East.  Will  she  choose  the  nobler  end?" — Frederick  A. 
McKenzie,  "Korea's  Fight  for  Freedom,"  pp.  319,  320. 

The  Vision  o£  Japanese  Statesmen 

Consolidation  of  Asia  under  Japanese  domination  is  the  vision  of 
the  Japanese  statesmen;  and  toward  the  attainment  of  this  national  goal 
there  is  unity  of  purpose  among  Japanese  leaders.  With  this  in  view. 
Inner  Mongolia  and  Fukien  province  are  being  overwhelmed,  and,  last 
but  not  least,  Japan  has  obtained  from  the  Powers  at  the  Peace  Confer- 
ence the  official  recognition  of  her  paramount  interests  in  Shantung.  At 
the  present  rate  of  Japanese  aggression,  China  cannot  last  very  long. 
Shall  she  be  left  to  her  own  fate,  or  will  the  Powers  of  the  West  take  an 
active  interest  in  the  Far  Eastern  affairs  and  save  her  national  entity? 
The  United  States  is  not  interested  in  any  particular  European  or 
Asiatic  problem,  individual  in  character.  But  the  United  States  is  inter- 
ested in  a  problem  that  has  far-reaching  effects  on  the  world's  peace  and 
the  welfare  of  mankind.  What  are  her  obligations,  by  treaty,  by  policy, 
by  moral  rights,  to  her  sister  republic  in  the  East  ? — Henry  Chung,  "The 
Oriental  Policy  of  the  United  States,"  pp.  11-13. 

Shantung  is  only  an  incident  in  Japan's  imperial  policy  for  dominat- 
ing Eastern  Asia.  Behind  Shantung  is  Japan's  determination  to  control 
the  economic  resources  of  China,  in  order  to  raise  herself  to  a  first-class 
power  and  to  maintain  that  position.  Everyone  now  knows  that  this 
program  is  a  policy  of  force  to  the  utmost.  We  know  it.  Europe  knows 
it.     China  knows  it.     Japan  knows  it. 

Japan  is  carrying  this  program  to  the  limit  of  Prussianism.  Upon 
a  country  with  whom  she  was  not  at  war — merely  a  weakened  people  in 
vassalage  to  her,  Korea — Japan  has  committed  extreme  cruelties,  sabering 
and  beating  the  people,  burning  whole  villages,  abolishing  civil  rights. 
Japan  has  terrorized  a  nation,  and  until  recent  weeks  was  in  the  act  of 
terrorizing  a  great  province  in  China.  She  has  poisoned  whole  popula- 
tions through  illegitimate  smuggling  of  morphine' and  opium.  .  .  . 

But  admitting  that  Japan  has  gone  to  extremes,  drawing  the  heaviest 


8  AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

indictment  against  her,  it  remains  that  in  principle  she  has  merely  fol- 
lowed the  example  of  Europe — imperialism  in  its  essence — the  policy  of 
taking  everything  you  can  lay  hands  on,  whether  or  not  it  belongs  to 
you.  We  in  America,  in  ignorance  of  the  game  of  international  affairs, 
thought  the  Great  War  had  ended  that.  We  are  now  undeceiving 
ourselves. 

Sharply  then,  and  immediately,  our  democracy  has  collided  with 
Japan's  imperialism.  There  is  no  blinking  that  fact.  There  are  two 
opposed  systems.  They  have  met  in  the  persons  of  Americans  and 
Japanese  in  Manchuria,  buying  beans  or  selling  oil  or  soldiering  against 
the  Bolsheviki.  They  have  met  again  over  the  conference  tables  of 
statesmen. — Louis  D.  Froelick,  Asia,  September,  1919,  p.  875. 

Clouds  on  the  International  Horizon 

One  such  cloud  that  constantly  hangs  on  the  horizon  of  Japan- 
American  friendship  is  the  anti-Japanese  agitation  in  California.  It  is 
but  a  tiny  spot  on  the  great  body  politic  of  America,  but  the  latter  should 
remember  that  it  is  quite  big  to  Japan  which  has  an  area  less  than  the 
state  of  California.  Another  cloud  threatens  to  darken  the  horizon  of 
America's  relations  with  Japan  in  China.  Americans  will  understand 
our  feeling  on  this  subject  if  they  can  but  put  themselves  in  our  place  and 
imagine  what  America  would  think  and  how  her  people  would  feel  if 
Japan  began  to  interfere  in  American  relations  in  Mexico  or  some 
country  of  South  America!  Russia,  too,  promises  to  provide  another 
problem  in  which  Japan's  relations  with  America  may  be  put  to  the  test ; 
but  after  all,  this  also  is  nothing  but  the  China  problem  in  another  guise. 
— ^Baron  Yoshiro  Sakatani,  Japan  Review,  February,  1920,  p.  107. 

American  Imperialistic  Tendencies 

In  the  course  of  a  hundred  years  or  so  the  United  States  had  jumped 
the  Mississippi  River,  crossed  the  Rockies,  occupied  the  Pacific  slope,  and 
since  Japan's  war  with  China  had  spanned  the  Pacific,  occupying  Hawaii 
and  the  Philippines,  and  was  seeking  investments  in  Chinese  mines  and 
railways.  What  might  she  not  do  next?  What  wonder  that  many 
Japanese,  misunderstanding  the  spirit  of  the  American  people,  should 
be  irritated  by  their  open-door  policy  and  regard  it  as  a  hypocritical  cloak 
for  selfish  designs?  What  wonder  that  they  should  think  of  America  as 
a  menace  and,  even  if  they  could  be  persuaded  that  for  the  present  she 
had  no  selfish  motives,  should  believe  that  commercial  expansion  and  the 
investment  of  capital  in  China  might  lead  her  later  to  challenge  Japan's 
special  interests  in  that  land?  Many  of  them  might  feel,  too,  that  the 
open  door,  splendid  in  theory,  could  not  be  left  safely  to  the  protection 
of  Occidental  powers.  All  of  Japan's  experience  had  been  to  the 
contrary. — Kenneth  S.  Latourette,  "The  Development  of  Japan,"  p.  206. 


JAPAN  A  MENACE  TO  PEACE  OF  WORLD?    9 

Modesty,  moderation,  and  content  with  existing  boundaries,  in  the 
sense  in  which  Americans  have  sometimes  enjoined  them  upon  other 
nations,  have  not  thus  far  revealed  themselves  as  American  traits.  It 
would  be  unwarranted  to  attribute  to  Americans  in  this  period  of  national 
expansion  a  definite  policy  of  deliberate  and  unlimited  expansion.  They 
have  had  no  such  policy — indeed,  no  consistent  and  persistent  policy 
whatever — and  they  have  consistently  and  sincerely  condemned  such  a 
policy  on  the  part  of  others.  But  they  have  had,  like  other  peoples,  what 
the  outside  world  quite  naturally  construes  as  such  a  policy,  a  permanent 
instinct  of  self-assertion  which  acts  automatically  in  all  situations. 
They  don't  want  the  earth — far  from  it.  But  whenever  circumstances 
have  directed  their  attention  toward  some  concrete  portion  of  it,  it  has 
looked  good  to  them,  and  they  have  cast  about  successfully  for  reasons 
why  they  should  possess  it.  They  have  wanted  it,  and  if  possible  have 
taken  it,  from  impulse,  and  then  have  justified  the  taking  by  arguments 
developed  later.  Best  of  all,  they  have  justified  it  by  their  own  large 
power  to  organize,  develop,  and  bless.  The  need  of  room,  so  often  and 
plausibly  cited  by  other  peoples  in  justification  of  their  aggressions,  is  a 
need  that  they  have  never  known.  The  needs  and  the  convenience  of 
neighbor  nations  they  have  never  regarded.  American  imperialism  has 
been  of  the  most  unmistakable  and  undisguised  variety. — Harry  H. 
Powers,  "America  among  the  Nations,"  pp.  68,  69. 

America's  Contribution  in  Opening  Japan  to  the  World 

As  Japan  witnesses  her  enormous  and  unprecedented  expansion  of 
trade  today  and  her  rapid  and  colossal  increase  of  specie,  she  cannot  but 
reflect  on  the  fact  that  such  progress  would  have  been  impossible  had 
not  America  forced  open  our  doors  and  brought  us  into  contact  with  the 
world  at  large. 

One  cannot  help  saying  that  there  is  no  true  Japanese  who  is  not 
deeply  grateful  to  America  for  what  that  country  has  done  in  the  way  of 
bringing  Japan  once  more  into  commerce  with  the  outside  world.  It  is 
only  right  that  we  should  acknowledge  our  obligations  to  the  United 
States  in  this  regard. — Baron  Yoshiro  Sakatani,  Japan  Review,  Febru- 
ary, 1920,  pp.  106,  107. 

Helping  Japanese  Liberals 

The  outcome  of  the  war  has  dealt  the  militaristic  and  bureaucratic 
party  in  Japan  the  greatest  blow  it  has  ever  had.  It  is  not  too  much  to 
say  that  only  one  thing  could  have  shaken  its  hold  to  a  greater  extent, 
and  that  is  the  actual  defeat  in  war  of  the  party  itself.  .  .  . 

The  moral  of  all  this  for  our  own  country  is  almost  too  obvious  to 
need  mentioning.  The  cause  of  liberalism  in  Japan  has  taken  a  mighty 
forward  leap — so  mighty  as  to  be  almost  unbelievable.    The  causes  which 


10  AMERICA'S  STAKE  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

produced  it  can  sustain  it.  If  they  do  sustain  it,  there  will  be  little 
backward  reaction.  If  they  do  not  continue  in  force  to  sustain  it,  they 
will  betray  it.  To  speak  more  plainly,  the  release  of  liberal  forces  that 
had  been  slowly  forming  beneath  the  lid  was  due  to  the  belief  that 
democracy  really  stood  for  the  supremacy  of  fairness,  humanity,  and 
good  feeling,  and  that  consequently  in  a  democratic  world  a  nation  like 
Japan,  ambitious  but  weak  in  many  respects  in  which  her  competitors  are 
strong,  could  afford  to  enter  upon  the  paths  of  liberalism.  The  real  test 
has  not  yet  come.  But  if  the  nominally  democratic  world  should  go  back 
on  the  professions  so  profusely  uttered  during  war  days,  the  shock  will  be 
enormous,  and  bureaucracy  and  militarism  might  come  back.  One  cannot 
believe  that  such  a  thing  is  to  happen.  But  every  manifestation  of 
national  greed,  every  cynical  attack  upon  the  basic  ideas  of  the  League  of 
Nations,  every  repudiation  of  international  idealism,  every  thoughtless 
word  of  race  prejudice,  every  exhibition  of  dislike  and  unjustified 
suspicion  directed  at  Japan,  is  a  gratuitous  offering  in  support  of  the 
now  waning  cause  of  autocratic  bureaucracy  in  Japan.  Liberalism  here 
has  plenty  of  difficulties  still  to  overcome.  Only  the  liberals  in  Japan 
itself,  who  have  now  taken  heart  and  courage,  can  work  out  the  problem. 
But  liberals  elsewhere  can  at  least  fight  against  those  untoward  develop- 
ments in  their  own  countries,  which  will  restore  to  the  Japanese  reaction- 
aries the  weapons  which  the  outcome  of  the  war  has  loosed  from  their 
hands. — John  Dewey,  Dial^  May  17,  1919,  pp.  502,  503. 

The  Rising  Tide  in  Japan 

The  breaking  down  of  the  former  political  structure,  as  well  as  the 
ancient  social  structure,  under  the  stress  of  modern  industrialism  is 
turning  Japan  into  paths  that  may  lead  to  regions  of  radical  experiment. ' 
The  question  now  disturbing  the  country  is  not  how  to  avoid  change, 
but  how  to  maintain  the  old  authority  until  a  suitable  modern  authority 
can  take  its  place.  .  .  . 

Intelligent  Japanese,  close  to  high  official  circles,  say  frankly  that 
fear  of  revolution — or  something  akin  to  revolution — chills  the  heart  and 
stays  the  hands  of  the  authorities.  This  fear  may  be  exaggerated.  It 
certainly  seems  so  to  one  who  has  moved  about  among  the  working 
people  and  attended  their  confidential  meetings.  The  ignorant  coolie 
laborers  of  Japan  are  still  stolid — ^not  people  to  start  anything,  or  to  stop 
where  reason  dictates  if  once  started  by  others.  Intelligent  and  edu- 
cated workingmen,  who  are  by  no  means  a  mere  handful,  are  primarily 
seeking  relief  from  the  intolerable  burden  of  exorbitantly  rising  prices ; 
but  in  the  course  of  this  effort  they  are  involuntarily  acquiring  more 
radical  ideas  and  are  learning  to  promote  their  interests  in  new  direc- 
tions.   The  labor  movement  is  marching  in  Japan. 

But  above  these  people  is  the  "brain  proletariat/'  restless,  alert,  dis- 


JAPAN  A  MENACE  TO  PEACE  OF  WORLD?   ii 

satisfied,  repressed.  It  has  sympathizers  and  sentries  in  every  govern- 
ment bureau,  factory  office,  bank,  and  counting-house  in  the  Empire.  Its 
sentiments  creep  into  the  organs  of  public  opinion  in  innumerable  covert 
as  well  as  overt  ways.  It  has  the  ear  of  the  silent  thousands  who  are 
doing  the  manual  labor  of  Japan — whose  very  discipline  may  become  one 
day  a  weapon  against  established  institutions.  The  thought  of  this  brain 
proletariat  has  many  aspects — from  Buddhist  passivism  to  Bolshevist 
activism — ^but  through  them  all  runs  the  red  thread  of  a  new  discontent, 
of  criticism  of  everything  that  has  been  and  is.  It  resents  even  its  former 
prides  and  affections.  An  educated  Japanese  of  liberal  sympathies 
illustrated  this  by  declaring,  with  his  usually  conventional  English 
rendered  picturesque  by  irritation,  "These  tourists  who  bubble  at  the 
mouth  about  cherry-blossoms  must  have  empty  heads,  or  they  would 
see  more  serious  things  in  Japan  to  talk  about." — Victor  S.  Clark, 
Atlantic  Monthly j  March,  1920,  pp.  394,  397. 

The  Contribution  of  Christianity  to  Japanese  National  Life — 
Two  Notable  Japanese  Testimonies. 

Christianity  has  more  than  anything  else  diffused  among  our  people 
the  notion  of  international  brotherhood.  .  .  .  Nobody  could  deny  the 
tender  influences  of  Christianity  which  is  giving  the  final  touch  to  their 
catholicity  of  mind. 

It  would  be  amiss  if  I  failed  to  mention  the  enormous  benefit  Christi- 
anity is  contributing  to  Japan  in  the  line  of  women's  education  and 
philanthropic  works,  which  would  never  have  attained  their  present 
magnitude  and  development  but  for  the  guiding  hand  of  foreign  mission- 
aries. 

I  believe  that  in  Japan  freedom  of  conscience  obtains  more  than  in 
any  other  country;  but  religions  will  become  the  integral  part  of  a 
nation  only  when  they  are  thoroughly  acclimatized.  I  hope  and  believe 
that  in  the  fullness  of  time  a  real  Japanese  Christianity  will  evolve,  and 
be  a  beacon  light  in  the  path  of  the  Japanese  people  in  the  progress  of 
civilization. — Hon.  T.  Tanaka,  Missionary  Review  of  the  World,  Novem- 
ber, 1916,  p.  825. 

Although  Christianity  has  enrolled  less  than  200,000  believers,  yet 
the  indirect  influence  of  Christianity  has  poured  into  every  realm  of 
Japanese  life.  It  has  been  borne  to  us  on  all  the  currents  of  European 
civilization;  most  of  all,  the  English  language  and  literature,  so  sur- 
charged with  Christian  ideas,  have  exerted  a  wide  and  deep  influence 
over  Japanese  thought. 

Concerning  the  future  it  is  my  own  conviction  that  no  practical 
solution  of  many  pressing  problems  is  in  sight  apart  from  Christianity. — 
Count  Okuma,  Quoted  in  the  Missionary  Review  of  the  World,  Novem- 
ber, 19 1 6,  p.  825. 


CHAPTER  II 

HOW  FAR  HAS  JAPAN  BECOME  THE  DOMI- 
NATING  FORGE  IN  THE  FAR  EAST? 

I.  What  effect  did  Japan's  part  in  the  Great  War  have  upon 

her  acquiring  a  dominant  position  in  the  Far  East? 

1.  What  part  did  Japan  take  in  the  Great  War? 

2.  How  did  this  part  strengthen  her  position  in  the  Far  East  ? 

3.  What  effect  did  the  awarding  of  the  former  German  rights 
and  concessions  in  Shantung  have  upon  her  influence  in  China  ? 

4.  How  far  and  in  what  ways  did  the  Peace  Conference  recog- 
nize Japan's  claim  to  a  prior  position  in  determining  the  poHcies 
of  the  Far  East  ? 

II.  How  much  of  a  foothold  has  Japan  on  the  mainland  of 

Asia? 

1.  Look  at  the  map  and  see  in  what  ways  you  think  her  control 
of  Korea  strengthens  Japan's  influence  on  the  Asiatic  mainland. 

2.  If  Canada  owned,  maintained,  policed,  and  operated  say  the 
northern  group  of  the  American  transcontinental  railroads, 
owned  and  operated  the  mines  in  the  general  region  traversed 
by  these  railroads,  controlled  practically  all  the  commerce  of 
the  region  with  other  regions,  and  was  able  to  insist  that  in  this 
belt  of  states  all  legal  cases  in  which  Canadians  were  involved 
should  be  tried  in  courts  under  Canadian  jurisdiction  and 
according  to  Canadian  law,  to  what  extent  would  you  say 
American  sovereignty  in  the  states  from  Minnesota  to  Washing- 
ton had  passed  from  the  United  States?  This  is  practically 
the  situation  in  Manchuria.  To  what  extent  has  Manchuria 
become  in  effect  a  Japanese  dependency  ? 

HI.    How  does  Japan's  position  in  the  Far  East  compare  with 
that  of  other  powers? 

I.  Look  at  the  map  and  see  the  location  of  the  Japanese  Islands 
with  reference  to  the  mainland  of  Asia.  Locate  the  regions 
where  she  is  in  actual  or  in  practical  control  on  the  mainland 
of  Asia. 

12 


JAPAN  DOMINATING  FORCE  IN  FAR  EAST?      13 

a.  Would  you  or  would  you  not  say  that  Japan's  naval  power 
and  her  present  territorial  foothold  give  her  control  of  the 
Yellow  and  Japan  Seas,  with  their  approaches  to  China  and 
Vladivostok  ? 

b.  In  what  ways  does  Japan's  control  on  the  mainland  of  Asia 
help  to  make  her  a  dominating  force  in  the  Far  East  ? 

2.  How  does  Japan's  influence  in  the  Far  East  compare  with  the 
influence  of  Great  Britain,  the  United  States,  and  other  Western 
powers  in  this  same  general  area? 

3.  Is  Japan  or  is  she  not  the  dominating  force  in  the  Far  East  ? 
Why  do  you  think  so  ? 

IV.    To  what  extent  does  Japan's  policy  indicate  a  purpose  to 
dominate  the  Far  East? 

1 .  To  what  extent  were  Japan's  twenty-one  demands  upon  China 
an  indication  of  her  determination  to  dominate  China  ? 

2.  To  what  extent  is  Japan  in  Siberia  because  of  a  real  menace 
from  the  "Red"  forces ;  to  what  extent  is  she  taking  advantage 
of  the  present  disorder  to  establish  herself  in  Siberia? 

3.  What  share  of  responsibility  to  aid  the  anti-Russian  forces 
in  Siberia  has  Japan  taken  ?  Were  you  a  statesman  in  Japan  at 
this  time,  would  you  consider  the  present  summons  to  police 
duty  in  maintaining  order  in  Siberia  an  opportunity  or  a 
burden  ?    Why  ? 

REFERENCE   MATERIAL 

Japan  in  the  World  War 

The  question  has  been  asked,  "What  has  Japan  done  in  this  war?" 
I  answer  only  by  saying  that  Japan  has  done  her  best.  .  .  .  Her  fleets  in 
the  Pacific  and  Indian  oceans  and  in  the  Mediterranean  traversed  over 
1,200,000  miles  in  the  work  of  protecting  transports  and  merchant 
vessels  from  the  submarines,  and  we  escorted  750,000  men  rushing  to 
the  aid  of  France  and  Britain.  Japan's  geographical  position,  her  re- 
sources, and  the  fact  that  the  Pacific  Ocean  was  freed  of  the  menace 
which  has  threatened  the  freedom  of  other  seas,  enabled  us  to  provide 
considerable  quantities  of  war  supplies  and  materials  to  Russia,  to  Eng- 
land, and  to  France,  and,  including  loans  to  Russia,  the  money  expendi- 
ture has  been  a  very  considerable  item  in  the  budget  of  Japan.  But  these 
are  small  matters  in  comparison  with  the  magnificent  sacrifices  of  our 
Western  allies.  The  Government  and  the  people  of  Japan  have  been 
the  loyal  allies  of  Great  Britain  and  France  and  the  friends  of  Russia 
and  of  the  United  States. — Baron  Makino,  Japanese  Peace  Commissioner, 


14  AMERICANS   STAKE   IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

in  "J^P^"  ^"^  China:  An  Official  View,"  published  in  London  Daily 
Telegraph,  quoted  in  Modern  Review,  August,  19 19,  p.  174. 

Japan  the  Indisputable  Leader  Nation  o£  the  Orient 

Japan  emerged  out  of  the  war  practically  unharmed  and  relatively 
stronger.  She  is  now  the  only  nation  in  the  East,  Far  or  Near,  that 
enjoys  a  complete  independence.  She  is  the  indisputable  leader  nation 
of  the  Orient.  The  World  War  offered  her  the  opportunity  of  "ten 
thousand  years"  and  Japan  will  see  to  it  that  she  will  have  her  place  in 
the  sun.  Japan  will  see  to  it  that  the  Western  nations  shall  not  meddle 
in  the  affairs  of  the  Far  East  without  Japan's  consent.  Japan  considers 
it  her  obligation  to  redeem  the  unnumbered  millions  of  Asiatics  from 
what  might  be  the  world's  greatest  tragedy — of  being  reduced  to  a  per- 
'petual  servitude  to  the  white  races.  Japan  will  see  to  it  that  the 
regenerated  East  may  work  out  her  human  destiny  in  harmony  instead  of 
in  antagonism  to  the  civilization  of  the  West.  Meanwhile,  Japan  will 
see  to  it  that  her  "sphere  of  influence"  in  China,  be  it  ever  so  humble 
in  comparison  with  what  the  European  nations  have  already  secured  in 
that  country,  will  yield  sufficient  economic  advantage  to  provide  her  for 
future  contingencies.  And,  finally,  if  China  does  not  awake  from  the 
danger  of  everlasting  confusion,  constantly  offering  fresh  opportunities 
to  the  Western  nations  for  more  aggression  upon  herself,  bringing  new 
frontiers  and  new  problems  to  her  neighbor,  Japan  will  see  to  it  that 
she  will  act  again  and  again  and  take  many  more  provinces  just  as  she 
took  Shantung.  Let  there  be  no  mistake  about  this. — Setsuo  Uenoda, 
"When  East  Meets  East,"  Asia,  December,  1919,  p.  1217. 

The  Bitterest  Outcome  o£  the  War  to  China 

In  order  to  make  the  Pacific  safe  for  the  ships  of  the  Allies,  Japan 
wrested  from  Germany  the  harbor  of  Kiaochow  Bay  and  the  city  of 
Tsingtao  and  the  claims  which  Germany  had  extended  into  the  province 
of  Shantung.  In  accomplishing  this  Japan  crossed  Shantung  from  the 
north,  invading  China's  neutral  soil,  and  not  content  with  taking  over 
Germany's  establishment  she  built  brick  barracks  along  the  railroad, 
filling  them  with  Japanese  troops,  and  erected  a  great  military  estab- 
lishment in  Tsinanfu,  the  provincial  capital,  where  she  could  control  not 
the  railroad  east  and  west  alone  but  also  the  trunk  line  north  and  south 
between  Nanking  and  Tientsin,  and  dominate  the  entire  government  of 
the  province.  She  overran  the  province  with  Japanese,  as  the  Germans 
had  never  done  with  Germans,  and  introduced  far  and  wide  a  diabolical 
trade  in  morphine.  It  was  absolutely  necessary  that  German  power  in 
Shantung  should  be  overthrown,  but  the  absorption  and  retention  of  so 
extensive  and  absolute  control  of  this  great  province  by  Japan  has  been 
the  bitterest  outcome  of  the  war  to  China  and  has  caused  great  dissatis- 


JAPAN  DOMINATING  FORCE  IN  FAR  EAST?      15 

faction  with  the  Peace  Treaty  to  many  friends  both  of  Japan  and  China 
in  the  West.  On  China's  side  it  is  urged  that  the  original  acquisition  of 
her  rights  in  Shantung  by  Germany  was  by  wrong  and  injustice;  that 
Japan  promised  to  return  what  she  took  from  Germany  to  China ;  that  on 
entering  the  war  China  denounced  her  agreements  with  Germany  and 
resumed  all  extorted  rights;  that  she  needs  and  has  a  right  to  the  return 
of  a  harbor,  which  is  one  of  the  few  remaining  harbors  on  her  coast 
which  European  powers  have  not  absorbed;  that  she  is  now  striving  to 
get  her  national  house  in  order  and  needs  all  the  help  other  nations  can 
give  her,  instead  of  being  pillaged  of  her  resources ;  that  she  has  already 
ample  cause  to  distrust  Japan,  and  that  the  Japanese  claim  to  Shantung 
can  do  nothing  but  deepen  this  distrust  and  foster  hatred  between  two 
peoples  who  must  live  in  neighborly  relations  forever  and  who  ought  to 
be  friends.  On  the  side  of  Japan  it  is  argued  that  Japan  was  asked  to 
drive  Germany  out  of  Shantung  by  Great  Britain ;  that  Germany's  rights 
had  been  granted  to  her  by  China  and  that  it  was  Japan  and  not  China 
which  took  them  back  from  Germany;  that  Great  Britain  is  seeking 
Tibet  and  has  no  intention  of  returning  to  China  what  she  has  taken 
directly  from  her  in  the  past,  and  that  since  the  war  began  France  has 
helped  herself  to  more  of  China's  territory  at  Tientsin;  that  China  is  in 
danger  of  breaking  up,  and  that  it  would  be  suicidal  for  Japan  to  run  the 
risk  of  having  some  European  power  in  Shantung;  that  Japan  has 
promised  to  return  to  China  all  but  a  small  part  of  Kiaochow  Bay,  and 
that  she  will  hold  this  only  on  a  long  lease,  so  that  in  time  China  may 
have  all  back  if  China  grows  capable  and  trustworthy.  If  only  Japan, 
which  has  learned  so  much  from  the  West,  would  transcend  the  political 
tradition  of  the  West  and  honestly  seek  to  build  China  up,  to  strengthen 
the  best  elements  of  the  nation,  to  be  an  absolutely  unselfish  friend — 
this  would  be  to  expect  more  of  Japan  than  Western  nations  have  been 
wont  to  do,  but  it  would  begin  a  new  day  in  Asia,  and  from  a  friendly, 
grateful  China  Japan  would  gain  more  than  she  can  ever  wring  from 
China  outraged  and  embittered. — Robert  E.  Speer,  "The  Gospel  and  the 
New  World,"  pp.  45-47. 

Statement  by  the  Chinese  Peace  Delegation 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  documents  to  which  the  Peace  Confer- 
ence has  given  birth  is  the  statement  issued  by  the  Chinese  Peace  Delega- 
tion. Dignified  and  restrained,  but  remorselessly  logical,  it  is  a  scathing 
indictment  of  the  Treaty  of  Versailles  in  its  effect  upon  the  Far  East.  I 
cannot  close  this  chapter  better  than  by  quoting  its  salient  points: 

"China  came  to  the  Conference  with  strong  faith  in  the  lofty  prin- 
ciples adopted  by  the  Allied  and  Associated  Powers  as  the  basis  of  a 
just  and  permanent  world  peace.  Great,  therefore,  will  be  the  disap- 
pointment and  disillusionment  of  the  Chinese  people  over  the  proposed 
settlement.    If  there  was  reason  for  the  Council  to  stand  firm  on  the 


i6  AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

question  of  Fiume,  there  would  seem  all  the  more  reason  to  uphold 
China's  claim  relating  to  Shantung,  which  involves  the  future  welfare 
of  36,000,000  souls  and  the  highest  interests  of  peace  in  the  Far  East.  .  .  . 

"The  German  rights  in  Shantung  originated  in  an  act  of  wanton 
aggression  in  1897,  characteristic  of  Prussian  militarism.  To  transfer 
these  rights  to  Japan  is  therefore  to  perpetuate  an  act  of  aggression  which 
has  been  resented  by  the  Chinese  people  ever  since  its  perpetration. 

"Moreover,  owing  to  China's  declaration  of  war  against  the  Teutonic 
Powers,  and  the  abrogation  of  all  treaties  and  agreements  between  China 
and  these  Powers,  the  German  rights  automatically  reverted  to  China. 
This  declaration  was  officially  notified  to  and  taken  cognizance  of  by  the 
Allied  and  Associated  Governments.  .  .  .  The  Council  has  bestowed  on 
Japan  rights  not  of  Germany  but  of  China,  not  of  the  enemy  but  of  an 
ally.  Such  virtual  substitution  of  Japan  for  Germany  in  Shantung, 
serious  enough  in  itself,  becomes  grave  when  the  position  of  Japan  in 
South  Manchuria  and  Eastern  Inner  Mongolia  is  read  in  connection  with 
it.  Firmly  entrenched  on  both  sides  of  the  Gulf  of  Peichili — the  water 
outlet  of  Peking — with  a  hold  on  three  trunk  lines  issuing  from  Peking 
and  connecting  it  with  the  rest  of  China,  the  capital  becomes  but  an 
enclave  in  the  midst  of  Japanese  influence.  Besides,  Shangtung  is 
China's  Holy  Land,  packed  with  memories  of  Confucius  and  Mencius 
and  hallowed  as  the  cradle  of  Chinese  civilization.  .  .  . 

"The  Chinese  Delegation  understand  that  the  decision  of  the 
Council  has  been  prompted  by  the  fact  that  Great  Britain  and  France 
had  undertaken  in  February  and  March,  1917,  to  support  at  the  Peace 
Conference  the  claims  of  Japan  to  German  rights  in  Shantung.  To 
none  of  these  secret  agreements,  however,  was  China  a  party,  nor  was 
she  informed  of  their  contents  when  she  was  invited  to  join  the  war 
against  the  Central  Powers.  The  fortunes  of  China  appear  thus  to  have 
been  made  an  object  of  negotiation  and  compensation  after  she  had 
already  definitely  aligned  herself  with  the  Allied  cause." — Herbert  Adams 
Gibbons,  "The  New  Map  of  Asia,"  pp.  522-524. 

Japan  in  Manchuria 

Since  the  Russia-Japan  War  an  anomalous  condition  has  prevailed. 
Theoretically,  Manchuria  remains  a  part  of  China.  Its  officials  are 
appointed  by  the  Government  of  China,  and  are  supposed  to  be  amenable 
to  it.  Practically,  the  Viceroy  and  his  subordinates  are  in  a  very  em- 
barrassing position.  They  are  expected  by  the  Peking  Government  to 
rule  the  country;  but  north  of  Changchun  the  Russians,  until  the  chaos 
which  followed  the  revolution  of  1917  weakened  their  hold,  were  in 
possession  of  the  railway  and  all  the  leading  cities  en  route.  South  of 
Changchun  the  Japanese  hold  the  railway,  the  fortified  city  of  Port 
Arthur,  and  the  commercial  city  of  Dairen.  Both  Russians  and  Japanese 
do  as  they  please  in  their  respective  territories,  with  little  regard  for  the 
wishes  of  the  Chinese  officials.  It  is  true  that  their  jurisdiction  is 
technically  limited  to  a  narrow  strip  on  each  side  of  the  railway,  but 


JAPAN  DOMINATING  FORCE  IN  FAR  EAST?      17 

as  that  railway  is  the  one  thoroughfare  of  the  country,  along  which  all 
streams  of  trade  and  travel  flow,  and  in  which  practically  all  the  activ- 
ities of  Manchuria  center,  the  limitation  is  more  nominal  than  real,  and 
a  Chinese  magistrate  who  acted  on  any  other  assumption  would  quickly 
find  himself  in  hot  water.  .  .  . 

I  heard  many  complaints  that  during  and  immediately  after  the 
Russia-Japan  War  hundreds  of  Japanese  tradesmen  had  taken  possession 
of  shops  in  Manchurian  cities,  in  some  cases  forcibly  ejecting  the  Chinese 
proprietors,  and  that  they  have  kept  these  shops  ever  since,  refusing  to 
pay  rent  except  where  some  particular  shopkeeper  was  able  to  compel 
payment.  .  .  . 

Japan,  too,  is  under  no  less  constraint  than  before  to  resist  the 
advance  of  any  European  nation  in  Manchuria,  and  to  maintain  para- 
mount influence  in  China.  It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  any  one 
who  knows  what  they  have  done  and  are  now  doing  can  imagine  that 
they  contemplate  anything  else  than  permanent  occupation.  The 
Southern  Manchurian  Railway  is  one  of  the  best  railways  in  Asia.  .  .  . 
The  Japanese  have  expended  great  sums  at  Dairen.  They  have  con- 
structed immense  docks  for  shipping,  opened  new  streets  and  repaved  old 
ones,  erected  handsome  public  and  private  buildings,  and  in  general  are 
making  Dairen  a  model  city  of  the  Far  East.  .  .  . 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  why  should  the  Japanese  withdraw?  They 
knew  perfectly  well  that  if  they  did  the  Russians  would  move  down  and 
occupy  their  old  positions,  and  that  the  conditions  which  preceded  the 
Russia-Japan  War,  and  which  caused  it,  would  recur.  It  is  fundamental 
to  sound  thinking  on  this  subject  to  remember  that  Japan  cannot  be 
expected  to  acquiesce  in  having  any  European  Power  form  a  wedge 
between  Japan  and  China  and  lie  along  the  Korean  frontier  in  such  a 
way  as  to  make  Japanese  occupation  of  Korea  precarious. — Arthur  J. 
Brown,  "The  Mastery  of  the  Far  East,"  pp.  213,  214,  215,  219,  220,  221. 

Will  Japan  Withdraw  from  Siberia? 

Japan,  it  is  to  be  feared,  has  been  preparing  for  the  present  crisis 
for  many  months.  She  has  had  75,000  troops  in  Siberia  for  a  year  and 
a  half.  In  every  town  along  the  Siberian  Railway,  and  extending  out 
into  the  vast  rich  country  on  either  hand,  she  has  established  the  founda- 
tions of  her  economic  control.  She  is  reported  to  have  taken  steps  to 
acquire  the  industries  of  Siberia;  has  surveyed  the  mines  and  arranged 
the  necessary  concessions  with  the  Cossack  Semenov,  whom  she  has 
constantly  supported  and  intended  finally  to  place  in  power.  This  is 
the  tale  which  comes  from  thoroughly  competent  observers.  If  Japan 
were  to  withdraw  her  troops  from  Vladivostok  tomorrow,  everyone 
knows  that  the  day  after  tomorrow  the  people  of  Vladivostok  would  set 
up  their  soviet  again.    It  is  the  delusion  of  madness  (or  of  9,  discredited 


i8  AMERICA'S   STAKE   IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

statesman)  to  think  that  Japan  will  withdraw. — Lincoln  Colcord,  "J^P^" 
in  Siberia,"  Nation,  January  lo,  1920,  p.  38. 

Keeping  the  Peace  in  Eastern  Siberia 

The  Japanese  expedition  to  Siberia  has  not  been  sent  for  the 
exclusive  purpose  of  helping  the  Czecho-Slovaks :  it  was  also  with  the 
object  of  keeping  the  peace  in  eastern  Siberia.  It  is  for  this  purpose  that 
Japan  has  given  aid  to  all  anti-Bolshevik  leaders — Kolchak,  Horvath, 
Semenov,  etc.  Should  the  Empire  vacate  Siberia,  what  will  become 
of  Siberia  ?  Britain  and  France  still  regard  the  Bolsheviki  as  an  enemy, 
but  their  internal  troubles  and  financial  conditions  make  it  difficult  for 
them  to  send  troops  to  Russia  or  even  to  help  the  anti-Bolsheviki  with 
goods.  This  is  why  they  have  come  to  the  decision  that  Russian  affairs 
should  be  left  for  the  Russians  to  decide.  And  this  they  can  afford  to 
do,  because  even  though  the  influence  of  the  Bolsheviki  may  spread, 
Britain  and  France  will  not  be  directly  affected,  as  there  are  the  inter- 
vening countries  of  Courland,  Poland,  Germany,  Austria,  etc. 

Not  so  with  this  country.  Korea,  which  is  our  territory,  Manchuria 
and  Mongolia  which  are  our  sphere  of  influence,  and  China,  which  is  in  a 
relation  of  mutual  dependence  with  us,  are  all  contiguous  with  Siberia  and 
immediately  exposed  to  the  poisonous  influence  of  the  Bolsheviki.  Be- 
sides, the  disturbance  In  Siberia  will  at  once  imperil  the  first  line  of 
Japan'  national  defense,  and  is  sure  to  be  followed  by  a  disturbance  in 
Korea  and  Manchuria  and  Mongolia. — Quoted  from  the  Tokyo  Yamato  in 
Literary  Digest,  January  31,  1920,  p.  26. 

China's  Interest  in  the  Siberia  Question 

China  is  the  focus  of  the  Eastern  question,  and  her  interest  in  all 
phases  of  it  is  absolute.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  China's  interest 
in  the  Siberian  question  is  as  vital  to  her  future  security  and  national 
position  as  the  Alsace-Lorraine  question  is  vital  to  France,  or  the 
existence  of  buffer  states  like  Holland  and  Belgium  in  Europe  has  been 
vital  to  the  security  of  England.  As  a  result  of  the  Russo-Japanese 
War,  China  virtually  lost  control  of  her  vast  provinces  of  Manchuria  and 
Mongolia.  As  a  result  of  Russia's  collapse  in  the  Great  War,  China 
had  a  chance  to  regain  control  of  northern  Manchuria  and  to  recover 
Mongolia.  Now  came  a  proposed  Japanese  occupation  of  eastern  Siberia 
to  menace  again  the  whole  of  China's  northern  territories  and  to  cast  a 
longer  shadow  over  the  Middle  Kingdom.  By  all  the  catch-phrase  tests 
which  diplomacy  has  invented  in  the  process  of  modern  empire  building, 
China's  interest  in  the  Siberian  question  is  fundamental.  By  the  test 
of  "territorial  propinquity,"  China  has  a  major  position,  for  China  and 
Siberia  are  contiguous  on  a  land  frontier  extending  for  several  thousands 
of  miles.    By  the  test  of  "vested  interests,"  China  is  again  paramount 


JAPAN  DOMINATING  FORCE  IN  FAR  EAST?      19 

by  reason  of  her  reversionary  ownership  of  the  Chinese  Eastern  Railway, 
which  lies  for  about  a  thousand  miles  in  Chinese  territory.  By  the  test 
of  population  contacts,  China  also  is  paramount,  for  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  Chinese  reside  in  Siberia  and  own  much  property  there. 
By  the  test  of  the  alleged  menace  of  Bolshevism,  China  is  more  exposed 
to  its  penetration,  for  China  at  bottom  is  a  great,  loosely  knit  democracy 
and  very  susceptible  to  such  penetration;  whereas,  for  instance,  Japan 
is  a  rigid  autocracy  remarkably  impervious  to  such  penetration.  In  the 
circumstances  that  existed,  China  could  not  feel  otherwise  than  menaced 
if  Japan  was  given  a  "free  hand"  in  Siberia,  for  a  Japanese  occupation 
of  that  country  east  of  Lake  Baikal  would  envelop  China's  northern 
provinces  in  an  elbow,  with  a  large  part  of  southern  Manchuria  already 
under  a  Japanese  quasi-sovereignty.  In  short,  the  considerations  that 
were  potent  in  inducing  China  to  join  the  Allied  group  at  war  against 
the  Central  Powers  would  vanish  in  good  part,  and  a  situation  would  be 
created  that  probably  would  work  out  adversely  to  China  in  practice. — 
Thomas  F.  Millard,  "Democracy  and  the  Eastern  Question,"  pp.  289,  290. 

Japan  Tarrying  at  the  Cross  Roads 

As  a  region  for  colonization  on  a  large  scale,  Siberia  would  probably 
not  be  attractive  to  the  Japanese,  who  do  not  settle  even  in  southern 
Manchuria  in  large  numbers,  as  the  climate  is  unfavorable.  But  the 
direction  of  mining  and  manufacturing  enterprises  and  of  transportation 
would  enable  Japanese  capital  to  exercise  a  very  profitable  control.  To 
the  outsider,  however,  it  would  appear  that  any  attempt  to  exercise 
political  domination  in  eastern  Siberia  will  be  accompanied  with  so  many 
risks,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  opportunities  for  friendly  cooperation 
in  a  square  and  above-board  manner  in  the  development  of  Siberian 
natural  resources  will  be  so  great  that  it  should  be  an  easy  matter  for  the 
Japanese  nation  to  make  its  choice.  .  .  . 

Should  Japan  adopt  the  militarist  and  imperialist  alternative  to  the 
extent  of  using  the  present  crisis  for  the  purpose  of  gaining  control  of 
the  eastern  part  of  the  Trans-Siberian,  and  of  the  North  Manchurian 
(Chinese  Eastern)  Railway,  this  would  not  only  reveal  a  policy  dangerous 
to  the  peace  of  the  world,  but  it  would  specifically  be  a  direct  attack  on 
the  policy  of  equal  opportunity  in  which  America  is  vitally  interested. 
Experience  has  amply  shown  that  the  ownership  by  a  foreign  government 
of  a  railway  in  any  country  in  practice  destroys  equality  of  commercial 
and  industrial  rights.  Should  Japan  further  embark  on  a  policy  involv- 
ing a  policy  of  exercising  political  control  within  other  countries,  through 
ownership  of  the  means  of  transportation  and  other  methods,  such  ambi- 
tions could  lead  her  only  to  the  end  where  German's  military  power 
ultimately  found  itself,  confronted  by  the  solid  opposition  of  the  civilized 
world.    The  American  Government,  both  in  its  function  of  protecting 


20  AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

American  rights  and  anticipating  imminent  dangers  to  national  life,  and 
as  a  friend  of  Japan  and  upholder  of  international  peace  and  equity,  could 
hardly  look  on  in  indifference  were  such  tendencies  to  assert  themselves. 
Should,  however,  Japan  choose  the  other  course,  no  one  will  begrudge 
her  any  natural  advantage  which  she  has — and  there  are  many — for 
prominent  participation  in  the  development  of  Siberian  resources. — Paul 
S.  Reinsch,  Asia,  February-March,  1920,  pp.  169-171. 

National  Sentiment  in  China  over  the  Shantung  Decision 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  Government  had  officially  instructed 
its  delegates  to  the  Peace  Conference  in  Versailles  to  sign  the  treaty, 
recognizing  though  it  did  the  Japanese  appropriation  of  German  rights  in 
Shantung.  National  sentiment  was,  however,  tremendously  aroused.  If 
Japan  had  set  out  to  instigate  a  new  national  spirit  which  should  over- 
whelm the  old  local  provincialisms,  she  could  not  have  proceeded  in  a 
more  effectual  way  to  accomplish  the  purpose.  The  people  took  the 
matter  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Government.  By  cablegrams  to  Paris,  by 
telegrams  to  Peking,  by  mass  meetings  and  agitations,  finally  by  a  strike 
of  students  and  then  of  the  mercantile  guilds  in  the  larger  cities,  they 
made  it  clear  that  national  sentiment  would  regard  as  traitors  all  those 
who  should  take  part  in  signing  the  treaty.  It  was  an  extraordinarily 
impressive  exhibition  of  the  existence  and  the  power  of  national  feeling  in 
China.  It  was  all  the  more  impressive  because  it  had  to  work  without 
organized  governmental  agencies,  and,  indeed,  against  the  resistance  of 
deeply  intrenched  pro-Japanese  officialdom.  If  there  still  remained  any- 
where those  who  doubted  the  strength  and  pervasiveness  of  Chinese 
patriotism,  the  demonstration  was  a  final  and  convincing  lesson.  But  it 
took  a  great  crisis  of  foreign  menace  to  focus  the  feeling;  Japan  in  the 
last  two  years  has  done  for  China  what  otherwise  might  have  taken  a 
generation  more.  But  when  the  immediate  task  of  preventing  the  signing 
of  the  treaty  that  gave  away  Chinese  rights  was  performed,  the  feeling 
lapsed.  Perhaps  it  remains  equally  intense,  but  it  has  lost  in  sureness  of 
direction. — John  Dewey,  "Chinese  National  Sentiment,"  Asia,  December, 
1919,  p.  1241. 

Japan's  Policy  in  Relation  to  China 

In  her  dealings  with  China,  the  famous  Twenty-One  Demands  may 
be  said  fairly  to  represent  the  method  and  the  gist  of  Japan's  policy. 
These  were  presented  to  China  in  what  was  intended  to  remain  a  secret 
manner.  On  January  18,  1915,  the  Japanese  Minister  presented  to  the 
President  of  China  a  list  of  demands  arranged  in  five  groups.  Secrecy 
was  enjoined  upon  the  Chinese  Government,  but  so  momentous  were 
the  proposals  that  it  was  found  impossible  to  maintain  it.  The  demands 
leaked  out,  but  the  public  was  promptly  assured  by  subsidized  news 


JAPAN  DOMINATING  FORCE  IN  FAR  EAST?      21 

agencies  that  there  had  been  no  demands.  Subsequently,  in  answer  to 
official  inquiries,  the  Japanese  Government  furnished  to  various  govern- 
ments, including  the  United  States,  a  version  of  the  demands  v^hich 
eventually  proved  to  be  different  both  from  the  original  demands  as 
presented  to  the  President  of  China  on  January  i8th  and  from  the  revised 
demands  presented  to  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  April  26th.  So 
strong  were  the  denials  of  the  Japanese  Legations  in  London  and  Wash- 
ington that  American  and  English  newspapers  were  unwilling  to  publish 
the  first  reports  sent  to  them  by  their  experienced  correspondents  in 
Peking.  Later  developments  showed  that  there  had  been  no  exaggeration 
in  these  earliest  reports.  .  .  . 

The  scope  of  these  demands  was  commensurate  with  the  ambition  of 
Japan.  They  were  subdivided  into  four  geographical  groups:  (i) 
Manchuria  and  Eastern  Mongolia,  (2)  the  province  of  Shantung,  (3)  the 
Yangtze  valley,  and  (4)  the  province  of  Fukien.  The  only  parts  of 
China  which  were  not  directly  affected  were  the  western  and  south- 
western provinces  which  adjoin  British  or  French  concessions.  All  of 
the  northern  provinces,  those  of  the  Yangtze  valley,  and  the  coast 
provinces,  with  the  exception  of  Canton,  came  within  their  purview.  The 
specific  items  of  the  demands  provided  for  the  exploitation  of  iron  and 
coal  mines,  the  construction  and  management  of  railways,  joint  agri- 
cultural enterprises,  joint  iron  and  steel  works,  the  extension  of  the 
period  of  leased  territories,  and  other  affairs  of  similar  far-reaching 
consequences.  They  even  took  cognizance  of  a  "report"  that  had 
reached  the  Japanese  Minister  "to  the  effect  that  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment had  the  intention  of  permitting  foreign  nations  to  establish  on  the 
coast  of  Fukien  province  dockyards,  coaling  stations  for  military  use,  and 
naval  bases,"  and  the  Chinese  Government  was  solemnly  required  to  give 
the  lie  to  the  "report."  The  most  cursory  consideration  of  the  geograph- 
ical limits  of  the  territory  mentioned  in  these  demands  and  of  the  wide 
range  of  interests  involved  can  leave  no  one  in  doubt  as  to  the  character 
of  the  policy  of  Japan  in  her  relations  with  China. — ^John  C.  Ferguson, 
"Pan-Nipponism,"  Asia,  September,  1919,  pp.  890-892. 

Japan's  Extraordinarily  Favorable  Geographical  Situation 

A  glance  at  the  map  shows  how  this  long  procession  of  islands 
from  Saghalien  to  Formosa,  lying  like  a  series  of  wharves  along  the 
coast  of  eastern  Asia,  with  its  outposts  and  inlets  at  Korea,  on  the 
Liaotung  Peninsula,  at  Kiaochow,  and  now  at  Fukien,  gives  Japan  an 
enormous  commercial  as  well  as  a  strategical  advantage  in  the  competi- 
tive war  of  the  near  future,  as  compared  with  her  rivals  in  Europe  or  in 
America.  Never  in  history  was  so  remarkably  favorable  a  geographical 
situation  in  the  hands  of  one  nation,  controlled  by  men  capable  of  taking 
full  advantage  of  it  and  looking  to  the  future  of  Asia  as  in  some  sort  the 


22  AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

heritage  of  the  Japanese  race. — H.  M.  Hyndman,  "The  Awakening  of 
Asia,"  pp.  169,  170. 

The  Shaping  o£  Events  in  the  Far  East 

What  part  should  the  United  States  take  in  the  shaping  of  events 
in  the  Far  East?  Upon  the  correct  analysis  and  proper  solution  of  this 
problem  hinges  the  future  peace  in  the  Pacific  basin  and  the  welfare  of 
one  fourth  of  the  world's  population.  If  the  problem  be  correctly  solved, 
and  the  situation  wisely  handled,  the  Pacific  Ocean  in  the  future  will  be 
a  basin  of  cultural  and  commercial  activities ;  the  United  States  will  hold 
her  political  prestige  and  commercial  advantages  in  the  East;  the  oldest 
civilization  in  the  world  will  be  preserved,  and  China  will  in  time  take 
her  place  among  the  powers  of  the  world.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
Asiatic  question  is  left  to  a  hit-or-miss  policy  with  a  lax  and  indifferent 
attitude,  Asia  will  ultimately  be  consolidated  under  Japanese  domination. 
Asia,  with  great  natural  resources  and  limitless  man-power,  dominated 
by  an  aggressive  empire,  European  or  Asiatic,  is  a  menace  to  the  world's 
peace,  and  a  direct  threat  to  the  welfare  of  the  United  States. — Henry 
Chung,  "The  Oriental  Policy  of  the  United  States,"  pp.  94,  95. 

Conflicting  Aims  and  Interests  o£  America  and  Japan 

Though  never  seeking  a  quarrel  with  Japan  and  though  having  no 
ambition  for  possessions  in  the  Pacific  any  more  extensive  than  those  we 
now  hold,  a  number  of  events  of  the  present  generation  have  in  a  striking 
and  unmistakable  way  placed  Japan  and  the  United  States  as  the 
champions  of  opposing  and  conflicting  aims  and  interests.  The  conflict 
of  interests  of  the  two  countries  is  not  a  possible  development  of  the 
future ;  it  is  an  immediate  and  at-present-existing  fact,  which  no  amount 
of  peace-advocate  logic  can  reason  away.  In  the  course  of  time  one  of 
the  two  countries  must  recede  from  its  present  position.  We  must  give 
up  some  of  our  cherished  traditions  and  renounce  policies  in  which  all 
Americans  have  taken  a  just  pride,  or  Japan  must  give  up  imperial  ambi- 
tions which  are  dear  to  all  Japanese  and  have  dominated  state  policy  for 
years. — Carl  Crow,  "Japan  and  America,"  pp.  3,  4. 

World  Problems  and  World  Outlook 

The  United  States  is  a  world  power,  destined  increasingly  to  par- 
ticipate in  world  commerce  and  world  politics.  The  fate  of  peoples,  the 
disposition  of  territories,  and  the  determination  of  commercial  policies  in 
the  Far  East  are  bound  to  be  of  enormous  consequence  in  world  affairs. 
What  occurs  in  the  Pacific  will  have  its  effects  upon  the  activities  and 
policies  of  the  major  nations  everywhere.  The  people  of  the  United 
States  already  have  large  social  and  considerable  commercial  interests 
in  the  Pacific.    They  are  entitled  to  increase,  and  in  the  natural  course 


JAPAN  DOMINATING  FORCE  IN  FAR  EAST?      23 

of  events  undoubtedly  will  increase,  their  activities  in  these  lines.  We 
should  endeavor  in  the  present  to  safeguard  the  opportunities  of  the 
future.  We  should  ask  for  nothing  but  what  is  just,  giving  due  con- 
sideration to  the  rights  and  needs  of  all,  demanding  no  special  privileges 
for  ourselves;  but  we  should,  on  behalf  of  our  own  interests  and  of  the 
cause  of  peace,  frame  our  policies  and  practices  with  a  view  to  the 
defense  of  the  principles  upon  which  we,  along  with  the  other  powers, 
have  agreed. 

The  international  problems  of  the  Far  East  are  world  problems.  As 
such,  they  merit  and  demand  the  attention  of  every  nation  which  has  a 
world  outlook  and  world  interests. — Stanley  K.  Hornbeck,  "Contemporary 
Politics  in  the  Far  East,"  p.  403. 

The  World-Wide  Application  of  Wilsonian  Principles 

Summarizing  his  principles  in  the  form  of  questions,  President 
Wilson.  .  .  said,  "Shall  strong  nations  be  free  to  wrong  weak  nations 
and  make  them  subject  to  their  purpose  or  interest?  Shall  there  be  a 
common  standard  of  right  and  privilege  for  all  peoples  and  nations,  or 
shall  the  wrong  do  as  they  will  and  the  weak  suffer  without  redress?" 
.  .  .  The  issue  for  the  Orient  as  well  as  the  Occident  seems  to  be  clear- 
cut.  The  President  has  said:  "These  issues  must  be  settled — by  no 
arrangement  or  compromise  or  adjustment  of  interests,  but  definitely  aftd 
once  for  all  and  with  a  full  and  unequivocal  acceptance  of  the  principle 
that  the  interest  of  the  weakest  is  as  sacred  as  the  interest  of  the 
strongest." 

No  human  being  can  view  the  incalculable  loss  of  human  life  and 
wealth  .  .  .  wrought  by  the  Great  War,  and  remain  unmoved.  "For 
what  purpose  is  this  waste  ?"  Only  in  the  achievement  of  some  such  prin- 
ciples as  given  above  can  any  such  loss  be  reconciled.  These  principles 
must  be  no  less  than  world-wide  in  their  application ;  they  should  extend 
not  only  to  the  free  peoples  of  Europe  and  America,  but  also  to  the 
newborn  democracies  of  the  Mongol  and  the  Slav.  Especially  do  they 
concern  the  vast  republic  across  the  Pacific,  whose  future  relations  with 
the  rest  of  the  world  are  so  full  of  potential  possibilities  for  discord 
or  for  peace.  The  importance  of  these  relations  was  summarized  twenty 
years  ago  by  John  Hay  in  two  sentences:  "The  storm-center  of  the 
world  has  gradually  shifted  to  China.  .  .  .  Whoever  understands  that 
mighty  Empire  socially,  politically,  economically,  religiously,  has  a  key 
to  world-politics  for  the  next  five  centuries."  Against  the  background 
of  the  great  democratic  upheavals  in  the  East  that  are  just  beginning 
to  take  concrete  shape  and  expression,  and  of  the  costly  cataclysm  in 
the  West  .  .  .  these  statements  have  a  new  meaning,  both  as  a  warning 
and  a  prophecy,  concerning  the  new  age  which  is  to  come. — W.  Reginald 
Wheeler,  "China  and  the  World  War,"  pp.  181,  182. 


CHAPTER  III 

SHOULD  JAPAN  BE  ALLOWED  INCREASINGLY 
TO  DOMINATE  THE  FAR  EAST? 

I.  What  kind  o£  a  record  has  Japan  in  the  Far  East? 

1.  In  her  policy  of  commercial  and  administrative  penetration 
of  the  Asiatic  mainland,  how  far  has  Japan  followed  the  policy 
of  Great  Britain  and  other  powers  in  the  extension  of  "spheres 
of  influence" ;  how  far  has  she  used  other  methods  of  acquiring 
control  ? 

2.  In  what  ways  has  Japan  used  her  power  to  help  Korea, 
Manchuria,  and  Shantung?  In  what  ways  has  she  used  it  to 
exploit  these  territories? 

3.  If  Japan  becomes  increasingly  dominant  on  the  mainland  of 
Asia,  how  far  can  we  count  on  her  using  her  powers  for  the 
good  of  the  peoples  concerned  ? 

II.  Compare  Japan's  reasons  for  wanting  territory  with  those 

o£  other  powers. 

1.  Why  did  Russia  want  Manchuria?  Why  does  Japan  want 
it?    Why  does  China  wish  to  keep  it? 

2.  Compare  Russia's  and  Japan's  reasons  for  wishing  Siberia. 
Take  into  consideration  extension  of  commerce,  establishing 
empire,  finding  ports,  giving  room  for  relief  of  congested  popu- 
lation. 

III.  How  far  is  Japan's  increasing  control  on  the  mainland 

to  the  interest  of  the  Far  East  ? 

1.  For  the  development  of  the  Far  East  which  would  you 
consider  better — ^that  Korea,  Manchuria,  and  eastern  Siberia 
should  belong  to  China,  to  Russia,  or  to  Japan,  or  that  they 
should  become  independent  states  ?    Why  ? 

2.  If  a  worthy  government  of  a  democratic  type  were  established 
in  Russia,  which  government,  Japan  or  Russia,  would  be  more 
acceptable  as  the  dominant  power  in  the  Far  East  ? 

3.  How  far  is  it  of  benefit  to  the  Far  East  that  Japan's  control 
should  increase  in  China  proper? 

24 


JAPAN   INCREASINGLY  TO   DOMINATE?  25 

IV.  Should  Japan  be  allowed  increasingly  to  dominate  the  Far 

East? 

1.  Why  did  China  refuse  to  accept  the  award  of  Shantung  to 
Japan  by  the  Peace  Conference?  What  is  her  attitude  toward 
the  increase  of  Japanese  control  ?  What  weight  should  be  given 
to  this  ? 

2.  On  what  grounds  can  Japan  claim  a  right  to  a  dominating 
position  in  the  Far  East?  On  what  grounds  could  this  claim 
to  priority  right  be  regarded  as  invalid? 

3.  How  much  and  what  sort  of  a  menace  to  peace  in  the  Far 
East  is  the  further  extension  of  Japanese  control  on  the  Asiatic 
mainland  ? 

V.  What  attitude  should  the  United  States  take  toward  the 

increasing  domination  of  Japan  in  the  Far  East? 

1.  In  what  way  has  the  United  States  used  her  diplomatic  influ- 
ence against  the  extension  of  "spheres  of  influence"  in  China 
and  for  the  integrity  of  China  ? 

2.  What  difference  does  it  make  to  the  United  States  what 
happens  in  the  Far  East  ? 

3.  Do  you  or  do  you  not  feel  that  the  United  States  should  seek 
to  prevent  the  extension  of  Japanese  control  ?    Why  ? 

4.  How  far  do  you  feel  the  United  States  would  be  justified 
in  going  in  helping  to  shape  the  outcome  ? 

5.  Just  what  can  America  do  to  help  in  guiding  the  Far  East  to  a 
right  destiny  ? 

REFERENCE   MATERIAL 
Japan's  Record  in  the  Far  East 

There  can  be  no  question  but  that  Japan  is  engaged  in  the  attempt 
to  control  and  where  possible  throttle  the  economic  development  of 
China.  .  .  .  She  has  acquired  the  last  Chinese  owned  railway,  seventy- 
four  per  cent  of  the  mines  and  mineral  deposits,  and  most  of  the  forests 
and  water  power  of  the  country.  Of  course  we  point  the  finger  of  scorn 
at  the  corrupt  officials  who  have  passed  these  things  over  to  her  for  a 
song,  but  the  fact  that  these  officials  have  been  corrupted  by  Japanese 
influences  and  are  maintained  in  office  in  the  face  of  Chinese  public 
opinion  by  Japanese  intrigue  is  also  to  be  borne  in  mind. 

Any  study  of  the  desperate  internal  political  situation  leads  you 
straight  back  to  the  same  sinister  influences.  Not  a  single  one  of  the 
freebooting  generals  who  are  destroying  the  inner  peace  of  China  today 


26  AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

but  depends  on  Japan  for  money  and  munitions.  When  Chang  Tso-lin, 
one  of  the  worst,  commenced  his  march  on  Peking  to  overthrow  the 
Government  last  year,  he  was  armed  with  the  rifles  which  the  Germans 
surrendered  to  the  Japanese  Government  at  Tsingtao.  It  is  significant 
that  the  conditions  of  anarchy  and  brigandage  which  are  supposed  to 
necessitate  intervention  by  Japan  in  China  have  been  most  rife  in  the 
two  provinces  which  Japan  claims  as  her  particular  sphere.  It  is  to 
Japan's  interest  to  keep  China's  political  affairs  stirred  up,  and  she  is 
doing  so. 

Japan's  effort  to  undermine  the  moral  stamina  of  the  Chinese,  to 
make  impossible  "cohesive  and  sacrificial  patriotism,"  by  the  widespread 
dissemination  of  morphia  among  the  people  is  already  known  to  the 
world.  ...  I  can  send  ...  a  list  of  ninety  Japanese  shops  which  were 
discovered  to  be  engaged  in  this  devilish  business  in  a  single  small  city. 
The  combination  of  the  Japanese  brothel,  the  Japanese  "drug"  store,  and 
the  Japanese  hospital  is  the  most  widely  known  Japanese  business  com- 
bination in  China. 

It  is  this  fact  that,  while  China  is  struggling  desperately  to  free 
herself  from  her  past  and  erect  a  modern  democracy  amidst  the  im- 
memorial autocracy  of  Asia,  Japan  is  constantly  pressing  in  to  affect  her 
affairs,  and  that  everywhere  her  touch  brings  bane,  not  blessing,  that 
arouses  our  indignation.  It  is  no  small  thing  that  across  the  top  of  every 
statement  sent  out  by  the  press  bureau  of  the  awakened  students  of  China 
there  is  blazoned  the  words  of  a  Japanese  minister  of  foreign  affairs, 
spoken  in  an  official  capacity:  "Japan  cannot  view  with  equanimity  the 
awakening  of  400,000,000  people." — "P.  H.,"  China  Christian  Advocate, 
November,  1919,  p.  5. 

Japan's  Policy  on  the  Asiatic  Mainland 

Japan,  the  infant  prodigy  of  the  East,  crowded  for  space  for  her 
ever-increasing  population,  and  with  an  insatiable  desire  to  become  a 
first  class  power  among  the  family  of  nations,  has  a  vision  of  political  and 
commercial  expansion  on  the  mainland  of  Asia.  Consolidation  of  Asia 
under  Japanese  domination  is  the  soul  of  Japanese  foreign  policy,  and 
has  been  so  ever  since  Japan  became  a  modern  nation.  In  the  first 
blocking  out  of  her  program  she  proposed  to  annex  Korea  within  forty- 
nine  years,  but  this  has  been  accomplished  in  twenty-six.  Now  the  same 
process  is  being  repeated  in  China.  Already  Japan  dominates  Manchuria, 
Inner  Mongolia,  Fukien,  Shantung,  and  Liaotung.  The  same  policy — the 
policy  of  opportunism — that  was  used  so  effectively  in  undermining  the 
Korean  Government  is  in  full  operation  in  China  now.  .  .  .  The  open 
door  principle  is  practically  destroyed,  for  in  the  territories  controlled  by 
the  Japanese  the  door  is  open  only  to  Japanese  trade. — Henry  Chung, 
"The  Oriental  Policy  of  the  United  States,"  p.  96. 


JAPAN   INCREASINGLY  TO  DOMINATE?  27 

European  versus  Asiatic  Ethics 

Can  it  be  that  Christian  Europe  "can  do  no  wrong"?  To  our 
benighted  souls  it  is  a  puzzle  that  European  powers  may  perpetrate  any 
crime  in  Asia  with  impunity,  while  an  Asiatic  nation  must  be  execrated 
and  condemned  for  taking  the  necessary  steps  to  prepare  itself  against 
their  further  encroachment  upon  its  backward  neighbors. 

To  know  something  of  the  portentous  possibilities  of  the  British  and 
Russian  policies  in  China,  one  need  only  think  of  the  vastness  of  the 
territories  which  they  have  staked  out  for  themselves.  Russia  claims  as 
her  sphere  of  influence  Outer  Mongolia  (1,000,000  square  miles),  Sinki- 
ang  (548,000  square  miles),  and  more  than  three-fourths  of  Manchuria 
(273,000  square  miles).  These  total  an  area  of  1,821,000  square  miles. 
On  the  other  hand,  Great  Britain  claims  Tibet  (533,000  square  miles), 
Szechuan  (218,000  square  miles),  Kwangtung  (86,800  square  miles),  and 
the  provinces  along  the  lower  reaches  of  the  Yangtze  River  (about 
362,000  square  miles),  making  a  total  of  1,199,800  square  miles  for  the 
British  sphere  of  influence.  In  the  south,  France  claims  Yunnan  (146,- 
700  square  miles)  as  her  sphere  of  interest.  Before  the  war  Germany 
claimed  Shantung  (55,900  square  miles),  from  whence  she  was  scheming 
to  expand  in  various  directions. 

The  chief  source  of  misconception  on  the  part  of  Americans  concer.n- 
ing  Far  Eastern  affairs  lies  in  their  ignorance  of  Chinese  geography. 
Open  the  map  of  China,  mark  out  the  spheres  of  influence  established  by 
European  powers,  and  compare  them  with  the  Japanese  sphere.  Then 
you  will  begin  to  wonder  why  it  is  you  make  so  much  ado  about  Japan's 
activities  in  China.  As  against  England's  1,199,000  square  miles,  and 
Russia's  1,821,000  square  miles,  Japan's  sphere  of  influence,  consisting  of 
South  Manchuria  (90,000  square  miles).  Eastern  Inner  Mongolia  (50,000 
square  miles),  Fukien  (46,000  square  miles),  and  a  section  of  Shantung 
(18,600  square  miles),  totals  204,600  square  miles.  Remember  that  it 
was  not  Japan  which  originated  the  idea  of  spheres  of  influence.  It  was 
because  European  powers  were  bent  upon  dividing  China  into  so  many 
spheres  of  influence  that  Japan  was  obliged  to  step  in  and  take  such 
measures  as  might  be  necessary  to  safeguard  her  position  in  the  Far  East 
against  any  emergency  that  might  arise.  .  .  . 

It  is  interesting  to  note  how  spheres  of  influence  have  been  estab- 
lished by  the  Powers.  Japan  paid  for  her  small  sphere  in  Manchuria 
$1,000,000,000  and  the  blood  of  100,000  of  the  flower  of  her  population, 
for  that  was  the  cost  of  the  war  which  was  forced  upon  Japan  by  Russia. 
On  the  other  hand,  Russia,  England,  and  France  secured  their  vast 
spheres  practically  for  nothing.  The  price  paid  by  Germany  for  her 
sphere  was  the  lives  of  two  missionaries,  whose  questionable  conduct 
resulted  in  their  murder  by  Chinese. — Kiyoshi  K.  Kawakami,  "Japan  in 
World  Politics,"  pp.  128-130. 


28  AMERICA'S  STAKE  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

A  Korean  Estimate  of  Japan 

Japan  .  .  .  ambitious  of  her  future  and  jealous  of  her  rights,  has 
chosen  the  expedient  rather  than  the  righteous  path  to  reach  her  place 
in  the  sun.  Her  poets  have  sung  the  glory  and  grandeur  of  war;  her 
philosophers  have  praised  the  valor  and  virtue  of  militarism.  Her 
merchants  have  practiced  "dumping"  and  misrepresentation  of  goods  as 
a  matter  of  course;  her  statesmen  have  adopted  the  Bismarckian  "iron 
and  blood"  policy  as  the  only  road  to  national  greatness.  Japan  is  no 
longer  the  gallant  knight  she  was  deemed  to  be  in  the  earlier  years  of 
her  national  ascendency,  setting  out  to  rescue  Asia  from  the  European 
dragon;  she  is  now  the  armed  bully  of  the  East.  The  Asiatics  had 
looked  upon  her  as  their  teacher  and  leader;  now  their  hope  and  faith 
are  shattered  in  finding  her  a  merciless  conqueror,  reigning,  sword  in 
hand,  over  subject  races. — Henry  Chung,  "The  Oriental  Policy  of  the 
United  States,"  pp.  171,  172. 

Japan  in  China  during  the  World  War 

You  know  quite  well  from  what  you  have  seen  for  yourself  in  China 
on  your  various  visits  and  from  what  your  numerous  well-informed 
friends  in  China  have  told  you  at  various  times,  that  Japan  has  taken 
every  possible  step  during  the  four  years  of  this  war  to  ruin  China, 
by  creating  and  sustaining  trouble;  by  financing  the  most  objectionable 
elements  in  every  community  in  which  she  has  been  interested;  by  the 
employment  of  agents  provocateurs;  by  the  encouragement  of  the  use 
of  morphine  over  large  areas ;  by  the  use  of  Japanese  immoral  women  in 
Chinese  official  households;  by  the  protection  given  to  bandits  and  other 
outlaws ;  by  the  wrecking  of  native  banks,  as  in  the  recent  Mukden  case ; 
by  the  corruption  of  officials  through  loans,  bribes,  and  threats;  and  by 
the  wholesale  misrepresentation  of  Allied  war  aims  and  the  most 
vigorous  efforts  to  prevent  China  from  coming  into  the  war,  and  then 
later  to  discredit  the  country  by  preventing  China  from  being  of  any 
use  or  service  to  the  Allies.  You  also  know  that  during  these  four  years, 
which  have  been  publicly  heralded  as  Japan's  years  of  opportunity,  it 
has  been  the  distinct  object  of  the  Japanese  to  gain  a  monopoly  upon 
political  influence  in  China,  and  at  the  same  time  to  make  openings  for 
Japanese  trade  which  would  give  the  Japanese  commercial  folk  as  strong 
a  commercial  monopoly  as  possible.  And  in  every  instance  in  which  the 
Government  has  created  an  opening  through  political  maneuvering, 
seldom  creditable,  the  Japanese  business  man,  said  by  his  defenders  to 
be  opposed  to  the  truculent  and  unscrupulous  policy  of  the  Japanese 
Government,  has  been  only  too  ready  to  take  advantage  of  the  oppor- 
tunities offered  to  drive  in  the  trade  wedge,  whether  the  trade  was  in 
legitimate  imports  and  exports  or  in  morphine  or  cocaine  or  women  or 
Chinese  cash  or  the  rights  and  liabilities  of  the  Chinese  people. 


JAPAN  INCREASINGLY  TO  DOMINATE?  29 

Not  only  has  Japan  been  working  against  the  present  interests  and 
future  good  of  the  Chinese  people,  but  her  policy  in  China  has  been 
deliberately  shaped  to  undermine  the  trade,  influence,  and  prestige  of  the 
Occidental  peoples,  nominally  her  Allies,  throughout  the  East.  Every 
ideal  which  we  have  developed  and  announced  as  participants  in  the 
present  European  War  is  disowned  or  discounted  in  the  Japanese  press 
and  by  Japanese  propagandists  among  the  Chinese;  and  in  actual  diplo- 
matic practice  Japanese  officials  in  China  have  practiced  every  subterfuge 
and  committed  every  diplomatic  crime  with  which  we  credit  the  Germans, 
and  have  invariably  been  supported  by  the  home  Government  and  en- 
couraged by  their  commercial  representatives  in  China. — From  a  private 
letter  quoted  by  Thomas  F.  Millard  in  "Democracy  and  the  Eastern 
Question,"  pp.  246,  247. 

A  Defense  of  Japan's  Trade  Policy 

A  British  merchant  of  Changchun,  Manchuria,  sends  the  writer  the 
following  letter  in  relation  to  the  attitude  of  the  Japanese  in  Manchuria: 

"With  regard  to  that  part  of  Manchuria  which  comes  under  Japanese 
influence,  too  great  praise  cannot  be  given.  The  conveniences  and 
facilities  to  banking  institutions,  railway  communications,  postal  and 
telegraph  service  are  far  and  away  superior  to  those  afforded  by  the 
Russian  and  the  Chinese  institutions.  The  Yokohama  Specie  Bank,  with 
its  numerous  branches,  enables  foreign  traders  to  transact  business  on 
the  same  lines  as  they  are  accustomed  to  do  in  other  civilized  countries. 
Transactions  with  this  bank  are  free  from  the  exorbitant  rates  and  the 
petty  *red-tapeism,'  to  which  it  is  necessary  to  conform  in  working  with 
either  the  Russians  or  the  Chinese.  It  is  a  recognized  fact  that  it  takes 
any  time  over  an  hour  to  get  a  cheque  cashed  at  a  Russian  bank;  more- 
over, the  absence  of  any  knowledge  of  the  English  language  renders 
transactions  with  them  considerably  irksome.  Every  employe  in  the 
Yokohama  Specie  Bank,  on  the  other  hand,  has  a  good  knowledge  of  the 
English  language.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  Chinese  Customs 
are  supposed  to  manage  the  postal  service  in  Manchuria,  that  service  has 
become  practically  confined  to  the  transmission  of  Chinese  correspon- 
dence. The  Japanese  appear  to  handle  the  greater  part,  if  not  all,  of  the 
foreign  mail  in  a  satisfactory  manner. 

"In  conclusion,  Japan  has  fulfilled  all  her  obligations,  and  continues 
to  do  so,  in  the  development  of  Manchuria,  and  woe  betide  the  day  if 
the  country  comes  under  Russian  influence  or  if  it  is  handed  back  again 
to  the  control  of  the  Chinese.  Too  great  attention  cannot  be  devoted 
to  this  country  by  the  press  in  Great  Britain,  in  order  to  direct  the 
attention  of  British  firms  to  the  enormous  prospects  which  await  them 
here  in  various  directions.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  they  will  soon  awaken 
to  these  possibilities.  If  these  efforts  are  delayed  too  long  they  will 
find  that  it  is  too  late,  as  other  countries  will  have  secured  the  business." 

It  is  well  in  criticizing  a  government  to  reflect  long  enough  to  con- 


30  AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

template  the  results  which  would  follow  in  the  event  of  its  overthrow. 
The  choice,  should  the  Japanese  relinquish  or  abandon  Manchuria, 
would  be  either  Russia  or  China,  alternatives  which  may  well  make 
foreign  traders  willing  to  bear  their  present  ills  rather  than  to  end  them 
by  flying  to  evils  that,  in  this  instance,  they  know  all  about. — Robert  P. 
Porter,  "Japan :  the  New  World  Power,"  pp.  756,  757. 

Taking  Advantage  of  Natural  Laws  of  Trade 

In  her  commercial  rivalry  with  America  and  other  nations  in  China, 
Japan  has  benefited  herself  simply  by  taking  advantage  of  natural  laws 
of  trade.  Japan's  geographical  situation,  her  enormous  investment  in 
China,  the  presence  of  200,000  Japanese  there  consuming  Japanese  goods, 
the  abundant  supply  of  cheap  labor  at  her  disposal,  her  familiarity  with 
the  use  of  the  Manchuria  pulse  of  which  she  is  the  greatest  customer,  a 
certain  similarity  between  the  Chinese  language  and  her  own — these  are 
the  conditions  which  have  been  instrumental  in  the  advancement  of 
Japanese  trade  in  Manchuria. — Kiyoshi  K.  Kawakami,  "Japan  in  World 
Politics,"  pp.  137-139. 

Japan  versus  Russia  in  Eastern  Asia 

Japan,  like  England,  is  situated  close  to  the  mainland  in  a  position 
of  wonderful  strength.  But,  even  more  than  in  the  case  of  England,  the 
disparity  in  size  between  the  little  island  state  and  the  mainland  is 
enormous  and  is  not  offset  by  the  divisions  in  the  latter  which  have  so 
long  been  England's  protection.  Japan  faces  on  the  continent  only  a 
single  modern  power,  whose  area  is  nearly  sixty  times  her  own.  Her 
relation  to  Russia  well  illustrates  the  complexity  of  modern  international 
relations.  There  is  little  race  antipathy  between  them,  and  Russia  suffers 
from  dearth  rather  than  from  congestion  of  population.  Yet  the  conflict 
of  interests  between  them  is  as  marked  and  as  irreconcilable  as  any  in 
the  world.  So  long  as  the  control  of  necessary  gateways  is  a  part  of  the 
policy  of  enterprising  nations,  Russia  will  be  impelled  by  the  strongest 
considerations  of  commercial  convenience  and  national  defense  to  force 
her  way  through  to  the  eastern  sea.  At  present  she  has  no  satisfactory 
outlet.  There  is,  indeed,  but  one  really  available  outlet  alike  serviceable 
to  commerce  and  capable  of  defense — the  Gulf  of  Peichili,  with  its  great 
harbor  at  Dairen,  its  Gibraltar  at  Port  Arthur,  and  its  impregnable  out- 
posts in  Korea  and  Shantung.  Toward  these  Russia  was  pressing  with 
all  the  force  of  her  mighty  energy  when  the  nineteenth  century  closed. 

Japan  viewed  this  advance  of  Russia  with  the  utmost  solicitude.  It 
is  most  important  that  we  should  understand  the  reasons  for  her  anxiety. 
These  are  essentially  two,  political  and  cultural,  though,  as  we  have  seen, 
they  are  but  different  aspects  of  a  single  interest. 

If  Russia  should  advance  a  solid  front  clear  out  to  the  Japan  Sea  and 
intrench  herself  in  Korea  and  Port  Arthur,  while  ample  communications 


JAPAN   INCREASINGLY  TO  DOMINATE?  31 

were  established  with  the  populous  districts  of  western  Russia  and  the 
regions  of  eastern  Siberia  were  filled  with  Russian  settlers,  there  could  be 
no  question  but  that  Russia  would  dominate  the  entire  East.  China  for 
an  indefinite  period  would  be  unable  to  oppose  any  effectual  opposition, 
and  against  a  power  so  vast  as  Russia  Japan  could  not  protect  herself. 
It  is,  of  course,  possible  that  Russia  would  never  have  attacked  Japan, 
but  the  mischief  would  nevertheless  be  done.  Between  two  countries  so 
situated  there  are  sure  to  be  numerous  questions  on  which  interests  and 
opinions  would  differ,  questions  of  their  commerce  with  China  and  with 
each  other,  questions  of  naval  and  maritime  privilege,  questions  of  every 
conceivable  sort,  the  decision  of  which  would  make  a  great  deal  of 
difference  to  both  citizens  and  state.  Against  this  greater  Russia  little 
Japan  could  never  make  her  will  prevail.  If  she  accepted  in  every  case 
Russia's  view  of  the  situation,  she  would  be  unmolested  but  would  dwindle 
into  insignificance.  If  she  resisted  she  would  be  coerced  and  probably 
annexed  and  assimilated.  Her  fate  would  be  that  of  docile  Denmark  or 
devastated  Serbia.     This  was  the  political  danger. 

But  something  far  worse  menaced  little  Japan.  The  Japanese 
culture  is  one  of  the  daintiest  and  most  exquisite  in  the  world.  There  is 
a  porcelain-like  delicacy  and  fragility  to  the  wondrously  beautiful  civiliza- 
tion which  the  Japanese  have  inherited  from  old  Japan  and  to  which  they 
are  attached  with  passionate  devotion.  What  would  happen  to  this 
civilization  if  it  were  lined  up  in  helpless  subserviency  to  the  huge  raw- 
boned  might  of  Russia  ?  .  .  .  Nothing  discredits  a  culture  like  impotence. 
Indeed,  the  first  marked  effect  of  the  opening  of  Japan  and  the  revelation 
to  her  people  of  the  power  of  the  Western  nations  was  an  almost  tragic 
disparagement  of  their  own  civilization,  accompanied  by  a  domestic  van- 
dalism and  a  tasteless  foreign  craze,  the  results  of  which  a  generation 
of  restored  sanity  has  not  been  able  to  obliterate.  No,  it  needed  no 
invasion  or  conquest  to  destroy  Japan  as  her  wise  leaders  knew  and  loved 
her.  Only  let  Russia  build  out  in  fulness  of  strength  on  the  nearby 
mainland  and  the  mischief  was  wrought.  Little  Japan  could  never  exist 
alongside  of  Greater  Russia. 

What  was  the  way  of  escape?  There  was  but  one  possible  answer. 
There  must  be  no  Greater  Russia,  and  there  must  be  a  Greater  Japan. 
This  is  the  program  of  Japan. — Harry  H.  Powers,  "America  among  the 
Nations,"  pp.  227-230. 

China  versus  Japan  in  Manchuria 

While  strategically  and  politically  Manchuria  presents  problems  for 
each  of  the  three  countries  whose  territories  converge  on  its  borders, 
when  considered  as  a  field  for  colonization  its  importance  commands 
more  specifically  the  attention  of  China  and  Japan.  .  .  .  Manchuria  is  a 
natural  outlet  for  the  excess  of  China's  population  more  truly  than  for 


32  AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

that  of  Japan;  and,  as  far  as  rights  to  this  open  field  are  concerned, 
China  has  the  better  claim.  The  pressure  of  excess  population  seeking 
an  emigration  outlet  will  probably  be  greater  from  China  than  from 
Japan — for  there  are  400,000,000  Chinese  as  compared  with  70,000,000 
Japanese  and  Koreans,  and  the  former  are  no  less  adept  at  "replenishing 
the  earth"  than  are  the  latter. 

Manchuria  has  an  area  of  363,700  square  miles,  a  part  of  this  area 
being  immensely  fertile,  other  portions  being  rich  in  timber  and  in 
mineral  resources.  Experts  are  agreed  in  the  estimate  that  this  region  is 
capable  of  supporting  a  population  of  100,000,000.  The  population  today 
numbers  perhaps  17,500,000  persons.  Of  these  about  17,000,000  are 
Chinese  subjects,  some  13,000,000  of  them  being  of  Chinese  and  perhaps 
as  many  as  4,000,000  of  Manchu  race ;  250,000  are  Koreans ;  about  100,000 
are  Japanese;  and  about  50,000  are  Russians.  To  enter  Manchuria  the 
Chinese  have  but  to  step  through  the  breach  in  the  Great  Wall  at 
Shanhaikwan  or  to  sail  across  the  ninety  miles  of  water  between  the 
Shantung  Peninsula  and  the  Liaotung  Peninsula.  As  many  Chinese 
farm  hands  come  and  go  between  Chihli  and  Shantung  provinces  and 
Manchuria  each  year  as  there  are  Japanese  in  South  Manchuria  after 
ten  years  of  occupation.  What  people,  then,  would  it  seem,  have  the  best 
natural  right  to  Manchuria;  and  what  people,  if  events  are  left  to  their 
natural  course,  will  settle  this  great  potential  outlet  for  excess  population  ? 

Though  Japan  takes  South  Manchuria,  and  whether  she  leaves  it 
open  to  Chinese  immigration  or  whether  she  closes  it,  her  occupation 
will  not  settle  the  question  of  population  pressure.  Still  less  will  it  insure 
the  peace  of  the  Far  East. — Stanley  K.  Hornbeck,  "Contemporary  Politics 
in  the  Far  East,"  pp.  271,  272. 

The  Struggle  for  Manchuria 

During  the  Chino- Japanese  War  in  1894-5  there  was  some  fighting 
about  Haicheng  and  Newchwang  in  southern  Manchuria,  and  Japan 
after  her  victory  received  a  grant  of  territory  embracing  the  Liaotung 
peninsula  and  its  hinterland.  Through  the  intervention  of  Russia, 
France,  and  Germany,  however,  this  was  ceded  back  to  China  in  return 
for  a  handsome  indemnity.  Japan  ousted,  Russia  took  her  place — 
first,  in  1896,  securing  the  concession  for  a  railway  through  central 
Manchuria,  then  the  lease  of  Port  Arthur  and  the  right  to  build  a 
line  from  Harbin  to  Dalny  [Dairen].  During  the  unsettled  years  that 
followed  the  Boxer  uprising  of  1900  Russia's  influence  was  extended, 
and  her  failure  to  complete  the  evacuation  of  Chinese  territory — New- 
chwang and  neighboring  towns — in  October,  1903,  brought  on  the  crisis 
which  culminated  in  the  war  with  Japan. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  upon  the  history  of  that  struggle.  Russia 
desired  an  ice-free  port.    More  than  that,  she  wished  to  retain  under 


JAPAN   INCREASINGLY  TO  DOMINATE?  33 

her  control  the  northern  portion  of  Korea.  In  this  Japan  refused  to 
acquiesce,  for  it  was  imperative  that  she  break  the  strategic  line  between 
Port  Arthur  and  Vladivostok. — Willard  Straight,  "China  and  the  Far 
East,"  Clark  University  Lectures,  p.  134. 

The  Value  of  a  Solvent  Japan 

Japan,  with  a  rapidly  increasing  population,  has  nearly  reached  the 
limit  in  the  home  country.  Internal  pressure  of  population  and  the 
expanding  energy  of  the  people  force  her  to  seek  an  outlet.  Racial 
opposition,  dense  population,  or  climatic  conditions  limit  the  field  of  such 
expansion,  except  in  the  contiguous  territories  of  Korea  and  Manchuria. 
In  these  provinces,  however,  Japan  has  encountered  the  antagonism  both 
of  China  and  of  various  European  powers  intent  upon  territorial  aggran- 
dizement. In  order  to  control  the  situation,  Japan  has  been  compelled  to 
fight  two  wars  and  build  up  an  expensive  military  equipment  that  is 
breaking  her  down  financially.  So  long  as  other  nations  threaten  Japan's 
natural  expansion,  she  will  be  compelled  to  maintain  this  armed  prepared- 
ness. In  the  writer's  opinion  it  would  profit  the  other  powers'  selfish 
interest  to  oppose  this  movement  no  longer,  on  the  ground  that  a  solvent 
Japan  is  of  more  value  to  them  than  a  bankrupt  Japan.  Japan's  future 
commercial  prosperity  depends  upon  the  integrity  of  China  and  her 
interests  in  that  quarter  are  consonant  with  those  of  America.  We  need 
not  fear  that  Japan  will  ever  permanently  control  China  proper,  even  as 
the  result  of  a  successful  war.  There  are  too  many  Chinese,  and  it 
would  be  too  expensive  an  undertaking.  .  .  . 

Japan  is  passing  through  her  own  hobble-de-hoy  period.  Her  cocki- 
ness, her  bumptiousness,  her  exaggerated  sense  of  dignity,  her  concern 
to  be  recognized  as  an  international  power — all  these  phenomena  we 
ourselves  have  displayed  in  our  time  and  with  far  greater  crudity.  It 
was  a  passing  phase  with  us  and  it  will  be  with  the  newer  nation  if  we 
do  not  take  it  too  seriously.  At  any  rate,  nothing  is  so  futile,  so  stupid, 
as  international  recriminations.  We  have  much  to  gain  by  retaining 
Japan's  personal  friendship,  we  have  everything  to  lose  by  losing  it. 

England's  attempts  to  limit  our  expansion  to  the  Pacific  were  based 
upon  a  priori  considerations,  not  on  her  own  desires  for  that  territory. 
The  United  States  expanded  through  its  own  exuberant  energy  rather 
than  through  necessity  or  pressure  of  population,  and  England's  attempts 
at  hindrance  roused  the  fiercest  resentment.  Japan's  present-day  ex- 
pansion is  also  partly  a  phenomenon  of  national  vigor  as  well  as  of 
economic  pressure,  and  the  attempts  of  foreign  nations  to  curb  it  excite 
the  same  resentment  that  we  ourselves  have  experienced.  Again,  have 
we  any  call  to  put  ourselves  on  the  side  of  Japan's  opponents  ? — ^James  F. 
Abbott,  "J^ip^iiese  Expansion  and  American  Policies,"  pp.  233,  234, 
257,  258. 


34  AMERICA'S  STAKE  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

Three  Possibilities  for  America 

Japan  may  be  reborn  to  abandon  her  policy  of  force  for  peaceful 
and  legitimate  commercial  progress  in  China  and  East  Asia. 

Or  China  may  find  her  spine,  straighten  up,  and  oppose  the  marauder. 

There  is  no  immediate  prospect  of  either,  though  each  will  un- 
doubtedly slowly  develop  and  partially  solve  the  problem. 

As  for  us,  we  have  at  last  reached  the  place  where  we  must  plan  our 
own  course  on  the  probabilities  and  not  the  hopes.  We  can  do  three 
things : 

1.  We  can  say,  "All  of  this  is  none  of  our  affair.  Let  them  work  it 
out  themselves."  And  with  this  attitude  we  may  stay  out  of  the  League 
[of  Nations],  and  either  honestly  believe  that  our  civilization  can  wield 
its  greatest  power  by  standing,  unimpaired,  alone,  or  simply  do  the  slacker 
trick  of  avoiding  a  bad  mess. 

2.  We  can  make  a  lot  of  cheap,  noisy  talk  and  goad  Japan  into 
readiness  to  declare  war,  while  we  mean  to  do  nothing  and  are  prepared 
to  back  down  at  any  threat  from  the  East.  We  then  convict  ourselves 
of  insincerity  and  encourage  aggression  against  our  rights  and  principles. 

3.  We  can  enter  the  League  of  Nations  determined  to  stand  by  our 
principle  of  democracy.  The  logical  result  is  that  we  definitely  make  up 
our  minds  to  be  ready  to  fight  for  it. 

The  hope  for  our  peace  with  our  neighbor  in  the  East  is  that  we 
be  so  strongly  and  deeply  convinced  of  our  democracy  that  we 
are  ready  to  fight  for  it. — Louis  D.  Froelick,  "Democracy  Collides  with 
Imperialism  over  Shantung,"  Asia,  September,  19 19,  p.  875. 

America's  Help  for  China 

The  world  is  being  too  closely  unified  for  two  incompatible  political 
ideals  to  exist  together — imperialistic  autocracy  based  upon  militarism, 
and  representative  democracy  founded  on  political  liberty.  President 
Wilson  crystallized  this  idea  into  a  political  principle  when  he  said  in  his 
message  delivered  at  a  joint  session  of  the  two  houses  of  the  Congress, 
April  2,  1917.  .  .  .  "The  world  must  be  made  safe  for  democracy;  its 
peace  must  be  planted  upon  the  tested  foundations  of  political  liberty. 
.  .  .  We  shall  fight  for  the  things  which  we  have  always  carried  nearest 
our  hearts — for  democracy,  for  the  rights  of  those  who  submit  to 
authority  to  have  a  voice  in  their  own  governments,  for  the  rights  and 
liberties  of  small  nations,  for  a  universal  domination  of  right  by  such  a 
concert  of  free  peoples  as  shall  bring  peace  and  safety  to  all  nations  and 
make  the  world  itself  at  last  free." 

It  is  a  clear  enunciation  of  new  Americanism.  The  United  States 
fought  for  her  own  freedom  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence.     She 


JAPAN   INCREASINGLY  TO  DOMINATE?  35 

was  willing  to  fight  for  the  freedom  of  the  peoples  of  the  Western 
Hemisphere  in  declaring  the  Monroe  Doctrine.  In  the  European  War 
she  fought  for  the  freedom  and  democracy  of  the  whole  world.  China, 
if  unselfishly  aided  and  wisely  guided,  can  revive  her  ancient  genius  and 
develop  her  vast  potential  resources,  and  will  eventually  take  her  place 
among  the  powers  of  the  world  as  a  strong,  democratic  nation.  Will  the 
United  States  of  America,  true  to  the  new  principles  of  her  political 
conviction,  perform  her  mission  toward  China  in  the  consummation  of 
this  noble  task? — Henry  Chung,  "The  Oriental  Policy  of  the  United 
States,"  pp.  109,  no. 

The  Larger  Problems  of  Human  and  National  Relationships 

In  the  interests  of  human  freedom,  the  peoples  of  the  world  must 
face  three  groups  of  problems.  The  first  concerns  the  relations  between 
the  politically  developed  states,  upon  whose  cooperation  the  solution  of 
international  problems  depends.  It  is  to  these  states  that  we  must  look 
for  the  evolution  of  those  ordered  relations,  which  tie  at  the  base  of  inter- 
national life,  not  only  affecting  these  states  in  their  direct  relations  with 
one  another,  but  necessary  for  the  solution  of  the  international  problems 
falling  into  the  other  groups.  The  second  series  centers  round  the 
difficult  questions  arising  out  of  the  relations  between  races  at  widely 
differing  stages  of  political  and  economic  development.  There  are  two 
main  sides  to  these  problems:  there  is  first,  the  question  of  protection 
against  exploitation,  whether  political  or  economic;  and  second,  the 
question  of  developing  among  backward  peoples  those  broad  principles, 
moral,  social,  and  political,  upon  which  free  societies  must  be  built. 
Both  merge  into  each  other  at  many  points;  on  the  whole,  the  former 
are  concerned  with  immediate,  and  the  latter  with  ultimate,  questions. 
Broadly  speaking,  we  are  here  faced  with  "the  white  man's  burden," 
which  hitherto  has  often  appeared  to  cloak  purely  selfish  ends,  but  which 
is  the  analogy  in  the  international  field  of  the  communal  protection  of 
the  young  and  the  weak  in  domestic  politics.  The  third  series  of  prob- 
lems relates  to  the  control  by  the  states  of  the  world  of  the  great  cosmo- 
politan interests,  mainly  economic  in  character,  whose  growth  has  been 
one  of  the  most  striking  features  of  the  last  century.  These  three  sets 
of  problems  overlap  and  cannot  be  kept  distinct;  but  broadly  they  are 
political,  sociological,  and  economic,  though  all  of  them  are  closely 
related  to  international  ethics.  Indeed,  reduced  to  the  simplest  form  of 
expression,  the  task  is  to  "moralize"  international  relations.  To  confine 
the  issue  to  the  problem  of  how  to  keep  a  single  strong-headed  nation 
in  its  due  place,  or  of  how  to  settle  international  disputes  without 
recourse  to  war,  is  to  miss  the  real  significance  of  these  questions  as 
phases  of  the  larger  problems  of  human  and  national  relationships. — 
Arthur  Greenwood,  "An  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  International 
Relations,"  pp.  195,  196. 


CHAPTER  IV 

HOW  CAN  AMERICA  SAFEGUARD  HER  TRADE 
RELATIONS  WITH  THE  ORIENT?* 

I.  How  important  is  the  Chinese  market  to  the  United  States? 

1.  China  is  said  to  be  the  greatest  potential  market  in  the  world. 
What  considerations  lead  you  to  doubt  this  claim  ?  What  con- 
siderations lead  you  to  believe  it  ? 

2.  America  would  look  askance  upon  a  Japanese  attempt  to 
achieve  commercial  priority  in  Mexico.  Would  Japan  have  a 
right  to  look  equally  askance  on  any  attempt  by  the  United 
States  to  achieve  commercial  ascendancy  in  China? 

3.  If  Japan  achieves  the  commercial  supremacy  of  the  Far  East 
by  permitting  her  manufacturers  to  produce  goods  cheaply 
through  sweated  labor  of  women  and  children,  in  what  ways 
would  it  concern  America  ? 

4.  Just  in  what  ways,  if  any,  aside  from  commercial  loss  would 
it  be  a  disadvantage  to  the  United  States  to  lose  her  full  share 
in  the  Chinese  market? 

II.  What  chance  has  America  against  Japanese  competition  in 

the  Orient? 

1.  Admittedly  under  Japanese  ommation  in  Manchuria,  much 
of  the  American  trade  with  that  part  of  China  has  disappeared. 
How  has  this  commercial  supplanting  been  brought  about  by 
Japan  ? 

2.  What  peculiar  advantages  does  Japan  have  to  secure  the  trade 
of  the  Asiatic  mainland? 

3.  What  probability  is  there  that  Japan  will  secure  an  increasing 
monopoly  of  trade  relations  in  the  Orient  ? 

4.  What  do  you  feel  is  the  relative  pressure  upon  Japan  and  the 
United  States :  (a)  To  secure  an  adequate  market  for  the  output 
of  home  industries?  (b)  To  provide  assured  raw  materials  for 
these   industries?    What   bearing   does   this    have    upon    the 


*The  discussion  group  or  world  problem  forum  may  prefer  to  give  two 
weeks  to  this  topic.  If  so,  Sections  I  to  III  could  be  covered  the  first  week; 
Sections  IV  to  VI  the  second. 

36 


TRADE    RELATIONS    SAFEGUARDED?  37 

relative  importance  for  the  two  countries  of  the  development  of 
commercial  relations  with  China  ? 

III.  What  can  America  do  to  secure  her  fair  share  of  Oriental 

trade  in  competition  with  Japan? 

1.  If  Japan's  procedure  continues  to  make  it  difficult  to  promote 
American  trade  with  the  Asiatic  mainland,  what  steps  in  your 
judgment  are  justified  to  protect  the  American  position? 

2.  What  recourse  other  than  to  arms  would  the  United  States 
have  for  securing  "satisfaction"  for  the  "freezing  out"  of  its 
trade  in  the  Orient? 

3.  Japanese  raw  silk  is  sold  to  the  United  States.  Japan  buys 
much  of  her  raw  cotton  from  us  and  from  it  manufactures 
cotton  goods  which  compete  with  the  American  product.  If 
these  cotton  goods  should  supplant  our  trade  in  manufactured 
cottons  in  the  Far  East,  would  or  would  not  the  United  States 
be  justified  in  putting  an  embargo  on  silk  imports  and  raw 
cotton  exports  to  influence  industrial  conditions  in  Japan? 
How  far  would  conditions  in  American  cotton  mills  justify 
America  in  taking  this  attitude?  How  far  could  we  count  on 
American  silk  manufacturers  and  cotton  growers  joining  in  such 
a  weapon  to  their  own  economic  detriment? 

4.  Just  what  part  do  you  feel  America  should  rightfully  take  in 
the  trade  and  commercial  development  of  China  ? 

5.  If  you  wished  to  advance  American  trade  in  China,  just  what 
proposals  would  you  make  to  the  United  States  Government  ? 

IV.  What  bearing  does  our  shipping  program  have  upon  the 

whole  question  of  America's  future  position  in  the  Far 
East? 

1.  What  advantages,  if  any,  has  Japan  over  America  in  the 
development  of  Pacific  shipping?  Of  what  importance  is  it, 
if  any,  that  our  commerce  should  be  carried  in  American 
bottoms  ? 

2.  If  American  youth  because  of  superior  business  opportunities 
ashore  prefer  not  to  go  to  sea,  should  restrictions  against  non- 
American  sailors  on  ships  of  American  registry  be  removed? 
Why?     Why  not? 

3.  Would  you  favor  American  personnel  on  our  shipping,  even 
though  substantial  subsidies  were  necessary  to  make  possible 
wages  that  would  induce  American  youth  to  go  to  sea  for  a 
living?    Why?    Why  not? 


38  AMERICA'S   STAKE   IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

V.  What  kind  of  an  effect  has  America's  commercial  impact 

upon  the  East? 

1.  To  what  extent  are  America's  commercial  contacts  with  the 
Far  East  now  on  a  Christian  basis  ?  Is  the  impact  of  our  trade 
approach  to  the  Far  East  prevailingly  Christian  in  its  influence  ? 
Consider  this  with  respect  to  the  materials  of  commerce,  the 
personnel  of  American  trade  as  you  may  know  it,  the  methods 
of  salesmanship  as  you  may  have  heard  of  these,  the  diplomatic 
procedure  of  America  in  dealing  with  controversies  that  arise 
with  other  governments  growing  out  of  our  trade  contacts,  and 
the  fundamental  motives  that  lie  back  of  the  extension  of  our 
trade  in  foreign  lands. 

2.  In  what  ways  should  this  commercial  impact  be  Christianized  ? 

3.  What  would  be  involved  in  the  Christianizing  of  America's 
commercial  impact  upon  the  East? 

VI.  What  hope  is  there  that  the  trade  interests  of  the  East  and 

the  West  can  be  harmonized? 

1.  Do  you  feel  that  the  ultimate  best  interests  of  Japan  and  of 
the  United  States  with  respect  to  the  developing  trade  of  the 
Far  East  are  inescapably  in  conflict? 

2.  Are  there  values  to  be  secured  which  are  securable  by  only 
one  or  the  other,  to  the  gain  or  loss  in  each  case  by  one  or  the 
other  ? 

3.  To  what  extent  is  there  an  international  community  of  interest 
in  the  commercial  development  of  the  Far  East? 

4.  Are  or  are  not  the  economic  relations  of  nations  to  one  an- 
other essentially  interdependent,  consequently  requiring  true 
cooperation  and  recognition  of  mutuality  of  interest  for  their 
highest  development? 

5.  If  you  believe  in  this  principle  of  interdependence  of  the 
nations  in  the  realm  of  economics,  how  would  you  go  to  work 
to  make  this  principle  evident  under  international  commercial 
conditions  which  seem  now  purely  competitive  ? 

REFERENCE  MATERIAL 

Possibilities  of  the  China  Market 

Most  of  the  eighteen  provinces  [of  China]  and  the  three  provinces 
of  Manchuria  contain  coal,  and  China  may  be  regarded  as  one  of  the 
first  coal  countries  of  the  world.  Iron  ores  are  abundant  in  the  anthracite 
field  of  Shansi,  in  Chihli,  in  Shantung  and  other  provinces,  and  iron 


TRADE    RELATIONS    SAFEGUARDED?  39 

(found  in  conjunction  with  coal)  is  worked  in  Manchuria.  On  the 
Upper  Yangtsze  and  in  Shensi  province  petroleum  is  being  worked.  Tin 
is  the  most  important  mineral  export.  Antimony  ore  is  exported  from 
Hunan.  Yunnan  province  is  one  of  the  richest  coppe/  districts  in  the 
world. 

Cotton  is  grown  widely  even  as  far  north  as  the  southern  part  of 
Chihli,  the  chief  area  of  production  being  the  Yangtsze  valley. 

About  twenty-seven  per  cent  of  the  world's  supply  of  raw  silk  is  from 
China. 

Treaties  forbid  the  export  of  grain  with  the  exception  of  the  soya 
bean,  the  chief  product  of  Manchuria,  of  which  in  1917  205,853  tons 
were  exported  as  beans,  821,941  tons  as  bean  cake,  and  104^13  as  bean 
oil. — Statesman's  Year  Book,  1919. 

A  great  wealth  of  undeveloped  resources  in  minerals  awaits  the 
engineer,  the  scientist,  the  laborer,  and  the  financier  of  the  New  China. 
Hundreds  of  millions  of  acres  of  fertile  lands  await  the  application  of 
scientific  methods  of  agriculture,  to  make  them  trebly  productive. 
Millions  of  acres  of  barren  hill  lands  await  afforestation  with  its  at- 
tendant blessings.  Good  sanitation,  irrigation,  rural  credits,  and  modern 
transportation  facilities  are  essentials  to  the  farmers  of  the  New  China. 
Household  industry  is  to  be  superseded  by  the  factory,  with  all  its  prob- 
lems of  sanitation,  organization  of  labor  and  capital,  congested  city 
populations,  education,  and  morals  which  are  attendant  upon  an  industrial 
society.  Along  with  this  industrial  development  there  will  be  great  ac- 
cumulations of  wealth  with  their  attendant  opportunities  and  responsi- 
bilities. Big  business  with  its  manifold  ramifications  must  accompany 
transition  from  the  bamboo  to  the  iron  age.  Railways,  steamship  lines, 
electric  power,  and  all  that  machinery  and  modern  invention  have  meant 
to  Western  society  will  enter  into  the  life  of  the  New  China.  These 
developments  in  all  their  varying  phases  call  for  organization.  In- 
dividualism must  give  way  to  group  activity,  to  organization  in  the  larger 
unit.  Over  and  above  all  there  must  develop  a  still  greater  organization, 
an  efficient  and  progressive  governmental  administration.  China  must 
develop  the  capacity  for  organization,  effective  organization,  and  organ- 
ization for  a  common  constructive  end. — Julean  Arnold,  American  Com- 
mercial Attache,  Chinese  Recorder,  April,  1918,  pp.  220,  221. 

The  possibilities  of  our  Pacific  trade  are  shown  by  the  growth  of 
Japanese  commerce.  In  1868  Japan's  foreign  trade  was  $13,123,272, 
gold;  in  1888  it  had  increased  fivefold  and  was  $65,580,382;  in  1898 
it  was  $221,627,954;  in  1913  it  was  $680,934,729 — $15  per  inhabitant. 
The  foreign  trade  of  China  probably  will  make  a  greater  relative  increase 
per  inhabitant  during  the  next  twenty-five  years.  The  trade  of  Japan 
increased  almost  fourteenfold  from  1888  to  1913.  If  the  trade  of  China 
increases  at  a  similar  rate  during  the  next  twenty-five  years,  it  will  reach 


40  AMERICA'S   STAKE   IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

over  $8,000,000,000  by  1941,  half  of  which  will  consist  of  imports.  But 
if  China  is  to  import  $8,000,000,000  worth  of  goods  a  year  within  the 
next  quarter  of  a  century,  the  importance  of  the  Chinese  market  to  the 
United  States  for  the  maintenance  of  our  export  trade  can  scarcely  be 
overestimated. — ^Janies  W.  Bashford,  "China:  An  Interpretation,"  pp. 
435,  436. 

Japan's  Commercial  Purposes,  Progress  and  Methods 

If  the  British  and  the  Americans  in  China  are  opposed  to  Japan's 
commercial  expansion  in  China,  they  are  welcome  to  oppose  it.  But 
they  should  go  at  it  in  a  business-like  way,  that  is  by  means  of  commercial 
competition  with  the  Japanese.  They  should  not  mind  little  toys  like  the 
Twenty-One  Demands.  These  will  not  hurt,  nor  will  they  bring  any 
very  great  influence  to  bear  upon  the  commercial  market  of  keen  competi- 
tion. If  the  Japanese  business  men  can  continue  to  produce  goods  at  low 
cost  which  will  sell  well  in  China,  the  only  way  the  British  and  the 
Americans  can  oust  the  Japanese  goods  is  to  reduce  their  cost  of  produc- 
tion and  transportation.  Boycotts  or  strikes  started  by  agitators  will  not 
shake  the  Japanese  trade  with  China  from  the  foundation.  If  only  Japan 
should  find  it  impossible  to  continue  production  at  low  cost,  owing  to  rise 
of  wages,  cost  of  living,  etc.,  whereas  the  Western  countries  may  remain 
stationary  as  far  as  the  cost  of  production  is  concerned,  then  it  will  be 
time  for  the  Westerners  to  compete  with  the  Japanese  goods  in  the 
Chinese  market  effectively. 

One  thing  the  Westerners  in  the  Orient  should  remember  ...  is 
that  we  will  not  stop  growing  until  we  shall  have  approximated  the  ad- 
vanced races  of  the  West  in  our  possession  of  wealth,  strength,  and 
civilization,  individually  and  as  a  nation. — Jihei  Hashiguchi,  Far  Eastern 
Review,  August,  19 19,  p.  572. 

Recently  a  special  agent  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Com- 
merce made  a  summary  of  the  disabilities  under  which  American 
merchants  now  operate  in  Manchuria  and  Shantung,  as  follows : 

1.  Delays  at  the  Japanese  banks.  Shroffs  [clerks]  of  American 
and  other  foreign  firms  are  made  to  wait  while  Japanese  are  given  prompt 
attention. 

2.  Holding  of  goods  at  the  ports  of  entry  and  railway  stations  on 
various  pretexts,  while  goods  shipped  by  or  consigned  to  Japanese 
merchants  are  moved  and  handled  promptly. 

3.  Similar  delays  at  Kobe,  Japan,  and  at  other  points  of  transship- 
ment, where  cargo  shipped  by  or  consigned  to  American  firms  is  held  up, 
while  cargo  shipped  by  or  consigned  to  Japanese  firms  is  moved  promptly. 

4.  Special  favors  accorded  by  the  railways  in  China  under  Japanese 
control  to  Japanese  shippers,  including  an  obscure  system  of  rebates. 


TRADE  RELATIONS  SAFEGUARDED?      41 

5.  Subjection  of  Chinese  to  a  "graft"  system,  except  those  who 
work  in  with  the  Japanese. 

6.  Encroachments  on  Chinese  business  and  property,  except  that 
of  those  who  work  in  with  the  Japanese. 

7.  Evasion  of  local  Chinese  taxes  by  Japanese  traders  and  mer- 
chants, while  other  foreign  merchants  and  the  Chinese  have  to  pay  them. 

8.  Manipulation  of  public  utilities  controlled  by  Japanese,  like  postal 
and  telephone  and  telegraph  communications,  to  give  advantage  to 
Japanese  merchants. 

9.  Taking  advantage  of  the  war  censorship  and  the  circumstances 
which  have  caused  mails  from  America  destined  to  China  and  other  places 
in  the  Orient  to  be  turned  over  to  the  Japanese  postal  authorities  in 
Japan  to  be  forwarded,  to  delay  the  business  mail  of  American  firms  trad- 
ing in  China  and  other  Oriental  countries,  to  learn  the  business  secrets 
of  those  firms,  and  to  use  the  information  thus  gained  to  obtain  the  busi- 
ness for  Japanese  firms ;  and  similar  use  of  telegraph  and  other  communi- 
cations controlled  by  Japan. 

10.  Refusing  space  in  Japanese  ships  to  American  cargo  in  order 
to  give  advantage  to  competing  Japanese  firms,  and  giving  lower  rates 
or  rebates  to  Japanese  shippers  than  are  given  to  competing  American 
firms. 

11.  Counterfeiting  of  the  trade-marks  and  other  distinguishing 
features  of  well  known  American  manufactured  articles  and  the  extensive 
sale  in  China  of  inferior  Japanese  imitations  of  those  articles. — Thomas 
F.  Millard,  "Democracy  and  the  Eastern  Question,"  pp.  274,  275. 

Japan  is  poor.  How  poor  it  is  only  those  who  have  visited  the 
country  can  comprehend.  .  .  .  The  whole  population — men,  women,  and 
children — ^labors  incessantly  and  for  a  mere  pittance.  Various  forms  of 
disease,  especially  tuberculosis,  create  an  appalling  death  rate.  This 
condition  of  the  great  mass  of  the  Japanese  has  been  made  more  serious 
as  a  result  of  the  war,  even  though  wages  have  been  somewhat  raised. 

Japan  has  been  eager  to  become  a  manufacturing  nation  and  the 
international  conditions  evoked  by  the  present  European  situation  have 
opened  a  remarkable  opportunity  to  the  few  to  realize  this  ambition. 
All  forms  of  manufacture  have  increased  at  an  astonishing  pace  in  the 
great  cities.  The  factories  have  been  largely  the  possession  of  a  small 
company  of  fortunate  investors  or  speculators  and  have  been  immensely 
profitable.  These  newly  rich  are  conspicuously  in  evidence  in  the  great 
centers  of  Japan  and  the  morals  of  those  who  have  thus  suddenly  acquired 
munificence  is  one  of  the  most  serious  problems  which  the  country  faces. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  growth  of  these  manufacturing  industries  has 
largely  been  accomplished  by  prostituting  the  labor  of  men,  women,  and 
children.    The  pay  of  all  workmen  is  pitifully  small,  while  that  of  women 


42  AMERICA'S   STAKE   IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

and  children  is  shockingly  inadequate,  although  they  are  often  compelled 
to  work  twelve  to  fourteen  hours  a  day.  Even  the  holidays  are  few,  a 
rest  day  once  in  two  weeks  being  commonly  the  maximum  opportunity 
of  change.  The  result  is  that  the  death  rate  among  laborers  is  exceed- 
ingly high.  A  woman  worker  endures  the  strain  only  a  few  months,  or 
years  at  most,  and  the  result  of  the  sad  situation  is  that  new  sources  of 
supply  for  female  labor  are  constantly  being  sought,  young  women  from 
the  outlying  parts  of  Japan  and  from  Korea  being  brought  in  in  large 
numbers  to  fill  the  gaps  which  these  fatal  conditions  create. — Deputation 
to  Japan  appointed  by  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions,  1918,  "The  Kingdom  of  God  in  Japan,"  pp.  61,  62. 

Advantages  of  Japan's  Geographical  Propinquity 

There  is  one  enormous  advantage  that  Japan  has  over  the  rest 
of  the  world,  in  the  China  trade,  and  that  is  geographical  propinquity. 
This  advantage  which  Japan  has  sought  to  improve  by  diplomatic  means, 
has  been  of  assistance  both  in  legitimate  and  in  somewhat  doubtful  ways. 
.  .  .  The  legitimate  advantages  derivable  from  geographical  propinquity 
...  all  resolve  themselves  into  reduced  costs,  and  therefore  cheapness. 
Every  item  in  transportation  costs  is  less  for  the  shorter  distance,  and 
when  to  this  is  added  the  fact  of  substantial  subsidy,  as  has  been  the  case 
with  Japan,  the  advantages  of  geographical  propinquity  are  considerably 
enhanced.  There  are  two  advantages  over  the  Western  trader  that  the 
Japanese  enjoy  in  the  highest  degree.  The  first  is  the  advantage  of 
language.  It  is  a  comparatively  simple  matter  for  the  representative  of 
Japanese  commerce  in  China  to  speak  and  read  Chinese.  On  the  value 
of  this  advantage  there  is  no  need  to  dilate.  The  second  advantage  is 
that  conditions  of  life  for  a  Japanese  in  China  are  much  more  closely 
similar  to  those  to  which  he  is  accustomed  than  is  the  case  with  the 
Westerner,  and  the  result  is  that  he  lives  much  more  cheaply,  which 
means  that  his  distributing  or  collecting  costs  are  correspondingly — and 
considerably — lower. — W.  S.  Ridge,  Far  Eastern  Review,  September, 
1919,  p.  613. 

Developing  American  Trade  in  the  Orient 

Other  nations  have  concrete  advantages  in  China.  .  .  .  We  have  the 
good  will  of  the  buying  and  the  selling  public.  The  next  important  thing 
is  to  keep  it.  We  can  do  this  by  sending  out  to  China  the  goods  they 
want,  packed  as  they  want  them,  and  delivered  when  they  want  them. 
We  can  do  it  by  the  following  up  of  our  many  "commercial  investiga- 
tions" and  extravagant  talk  about  the  possibilities  of  the  country,  with 
careful,  but  definite,  financial  investments  and  the  establishment  of  in- 
dustrial enterprises.  It  is  important,  too,  that  the  men  who  are  sent  out 
there  to  handle  our  business  interests  should  be  selected  with  care.    They 


TRADE    RELATIONS    SAFEGUARDED?  43 

should  be  men  of  the  highest  type  only,  not  the  adventurers  and  the 
sightseers,  but  the  far-seeing,  purposeful  men  who  make  their  business 
their  first  interest,  and  who  will  maintain  the  same  caliber  of  work 
and  the  same  standards  as  we  expect  of  them  at  home.  In  a  word,  they 
should  be  men  whom  we  shall  be  proud  to  have  judged  as  representative 
Americans.  Every  man  sent  out  who  can  not  stand  this  test,  even  though 
he  be  in  the  most  insignificant  clerical  position,  will  work  against  us. — 
Chester  C.  Lincoln,  National  Marine,  September,  1919. 

While  the  peace  settlement  has  made  the  political  international  issue 
most  acute  for  the  moment,  the  financial  and  industrial  question  is  the 
important  one  in  the  long  run.  Here  lies  the  great  chance  of  the  United 
States.  The  introduction  of  a  unified  comprehensive  currency  system, 
improved  modern  harbors  and  terminal  facilities,  the  reconstruction  of 
the  inland  waterway  system  to  improve  transportation  and  avoid  destruc- 
tive floods — these  are  samples  of  the  important  tasks  that  must  be  under- 
taken. At  the  present  time  the  United  States  is  the  only  country  that 
combines  the  requisite  capital,  engineering  ability,  and  executive  talent. 

The  important  thing  is  that  by  undertaking  big  things  on  a  large 
scale  the  United  States  will  get  around  much  of  the  competition  that 
breeds  irritation  and  suspicion.  If  the  scale  is  big  enough,  there  will 
be  no  competition.  Japan  is  not  prepared  to  take  hold  of  these  things  on 
a  large  scale.  A  negative  policy  that  can  be  interpreted  as  putting 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  legitimate  development  of  Japan  is  fraught 
with  dangers.  To  concentrate  upon  big  enterprises  in  a  constructive 
way  will  leave  Japan  plenty  of  opportunities,  while  it  will  once  and  for 
all  avert  the  possibility  of  rendering  China  a  virtual  subject  of  Japan — a 
danger  which  the  best  friends  of  Japan  must  admit  to  be  real  as  long  as 
the  militaristic-bureaucratic  element  continues  to  dominate  her  policies. 
The  serious  source  of  evil  in  the  present  situation  is  the  likelihood  that 
the  United  States  will  have  sufficient  interest  in  the  Far  East  to  talk  a 
great  deal,  and  to  act  in  minor  ways  but  upon  the  whole  in  ways  which 
can  be  construed,  with  more  or  less  justice,  as  having  for  their  main 
object  to  thwart  the  ambitions  of  other  countries,  especially  Japan. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  say  that  the  next  few  years  are  crucial.  In 
China  as  elsewhere  reconstruction  is  imminent,  but  for  the  time  being 
things  are  in.  solution.  Distance  has  its  disadvantages  in  all  the  lesser 
relations.  But  it  can  be  made  an  advantage  if  the  attention  of  America 
is  fixed  on  large  scale  undertakings.  .  .  . 

Leaders  must  come  whom  Chinese  leaders  recognize  as  their  equals 
and  who  are  intellectually  prepared  to  deal  with  Chinese  leaders  as  equals. 
And  the  plans  must  be  on  such  a  scale  that  it  is  evident  that,  while  ample 
security  and  reasonable  profit  are  given  to  foreign  investors,  the  outcome 
will  be  to  make  China  the  mistress  of  her  own  economic  destinies.  When 
this  is  accomplished,  she  will  have  no  difficulty  in  looking  out  for  herself 


44  AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

politically.  Just  because  the  controlling  factor  in  the  policies  of  other 
nations  has  been  to  cultivate  the  economic  subjection  of  China,  the  United 
States  has  an  unparalleled  opportunity  to  pursue  the  opposite  course. 
Has  it  the  imagination  and  the  energy? — John  Dewey,  New  Republic, 
December  3,  1919,  pp.  16,  17. 

The  way  to  create  wide  interest  in  foreign  affairs  is  to  give  a  wider 
number  of  people  an  interest  in  them,  and  this  can  be  accomplished  by 
making  foreign  trade  and  investment  in  backward  countries  a  less  risky 
and  more  normal  enterprise. 

The  effect  of  this  enlarged  interest  would  be  to  break  down  the 
uncanny  pretentiousness  of  diplomacy.  .  .  .  This  exclusiveness  is  an 
illusion  which  collapses  when  anyone  goes  behind  the  etiquette  of  diplo- 
macy to  the  substance  of  it.  People  will  not  go  behind  it,  however, 
unless  they  are  made  to  feel  that  the  subject  matter  of  diplomacy  is  re- 
lated to  their  daily  lives.  Without  some  direct  and  constant  interest, 
public  opinion  ignores  foreign  affairs  until  a  crisis  is  reached.  .  .  . 

But  if  trade  with  these  regions  were  extended,  hundreds  of  firms 
would  be  sending  buyers  and  traveling  salesmen  to  them,  establishing 
branch  offices,  and  in  endless  ways  intensifying  communication.  Busi- 
ness men  would  have  to  learn  languages,  study  history  and  political 
conditions,  and  some  knowledge  of  foreign  countries  would  become  a 
commercial  necessity.  The  schools  would  have  to  meet  the  demand, 
the  newspapers  would  have  to  give  space  to  foreign  news,  there  would  be 
a  growing  section  of  the  public  well  enough  informed  to  ask  the  State 
Department  pertinent  questions.  Congressmen  would  have  to  show  that 
they  knew  not  only  that  there  was  urgent  need  for  a  new  postoffice  in 
Ashtabula,  but  what  was  the  political  situation  in  China  or  in  Costa  Rica. 

In  brief,  to  have  public  opinion  there  must  be  interest,  and  this  can 
be  created  not  by  preaching  but  by  making  the  subject  of  it  part  of  the 
business  of  life.  .  .  .  Just  as  there  is  a  political  machine  which  governs 
because  the  voter  is  too  ignorant  and  too  lazy  to  govern  himself,  so  there 
is  a  diplomatic  machine  which  counts  upon  the  apathy,  the  docility,  and 
the  explosive  emotions  of  the  people.  In  this  darkness  and  silence  the 
world  is  rigged,  and  all  manner  of  cruelty  and  selfishness  flourishes. — 
Walter  Lippman,  "The  Stakes  of  Diplomacy,"  pp.  196-198. 

Importing  the  Products  o£  Oriental  Cheap  Labor 

The  people  of  the  United  States,  with  wages  at  two  to  five  dollars 
per  day,  cannot  import  goods  from  China,  with  wages  at  twenty  cents  a 
day,  without  exporting  something  to  pay  for  it.  It  is  a  national  enrich- 
ment for  us  to  buy  the  produce  of  what  some  call  pauper  labor,  because 
we  get  goods  we  need  and  use,  pay  for  them  in  other  goods  that  we  have, 
and,  therefore,  the  import  of  goods  stimulates  the  export  of  goods.  If 
one  will  take  the  trouble  to  think  nationally,  he  will  see  that  there  is  no 


TRADE    RELATIONS    SAFEGUARDED?  45 

escape  from  that  sentence. — J.  Russell  Smith,  Annals  of  the  American 
Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science,  May,  1919,  pp.  299,  300. 

Xl3£  Froy'mrG  of  Shansi  can^ive-  the,  world  coal  enough  to  supplyv-*-^ 
the  needs  of  the  world  for  some  thousands  of  years  at  one  shilling  and 
sixpence  a  ton.  How  is  that  produced?  The  porters  who  carry  it  have 
to  carry  a  400-lb.  load  for  less  than  one  penny  a  mile,  and  so  the  ordinary 
thing  is  that  they  work  one  week  and  lie  up  the  next.  Other  workers 
work  up  to  their  middles  in  water  and  suffer  so  from  swollen  legs  that 
the  average  time  sheet  shows  that  they  work  two  days  a  week  out  of  four. 
.  .  .  There  are  almost  1,000,000  factory  girls  in  Japan.  The  factory 
girl  gets  less  than  a  single  woman  can  live  on — and  you  know  the  rest. 
Reports  tell  us  that  investigation  revealed  that  of  the  girls  who  come  up 
from  country  homes  to  city  factories  more  than  sixty  per  cent  are  never 
heard  of  again  at  home.  We  buy  the  stufif  cheap,  dyed  with  the  blood 
of  our  sisters.  Is  it  our  job  to  put  that  right? — Rev.  W.  E.  S.  Holland, 
Address  at  Sheffield,  England,  November,  1919. 

Two  Varieties  of  Monroe  Doctrine 

It  seems  as  though  there  is  absolutely  nothing  that  Japanese  can 
do  in  Mexico  without  treading  upon  the  sensitive  toes  of  the  advocates  of 
the  Monroe  Doctrine.  ...  If  a  Japanese  secures  a  fishing  privilege  along 
the  Mexican  Coast,  he  is  held  to  be  encroaching  upon  that  doctrine.  If  a 
Japanese  gets  a  mining  concession  there,  the  same  doctrine  stands  ready 
to  expel  him.  If  a  handful  of  Japanese  farmers  or  laborers  manage  to 
get  into  Sonora  or  lower  California,  down  comes  the  Monroe  Doctrine 
to  denounce  them.  If  a  Japanese  business  firm  sells  arms  to  the 
Mexican  Government,  that  is  regarded  as  a  violation  of  the  doctrine. 
What,  indeed,  would  the  Monroe  Doctrine  say  if  a  Japanese  concern,  even 
unassisted  by  the  Japanese  Government,  were  to  propose  building  a  rail- 
way in  Mexico?  In  short  the  Monroe  Doctrine  of  today,  as  applied  to 
the  Japanese,  is  not  a  political  doctrine  as  it  was  meant  to  be  by  President 
Monroe ;  it  is  an  economic  dogma  conceived  to  bar  out  all  Japanese  enter- 
prises, which  are  in  nature  purely  economic,  and  which  are  the  result  of 
the  natural  growth  of  the  ordinary  pursuits  of  individuals,  unattended  by 
governmental  influence. 

And  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  America  has  more  than  once  proposed 
to  build  railways  and  work  mines  in  Manchuria.  She  has  no  hesitation 
in  recognizing  the  right  of  her  financial  interests  to  advance  funds  to  the 
Chinese  Government,  or  build  railways,  or  exploit  mineral  resources  in 
China  or  Eastern  Siberia.  Japan,  of  course,  has  no  desire  to  pick 
quarrels  with  America  on  such  matters,  but  she  may  at  least  be  permitted 
to  point  out  the  peculiarities  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine  as  applied  to  her 
citizens  in  the  Western  hemisphere. — Kiyoshi  K.  Kawakami,  "J^P^^^  ^^^ 
World  Peace,"  pp.  91,  92. 


46  AMERICA'S   STAKE   IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

Christianizing  America's  Commercial  Contacts  with  the  East 

Our  impact  upon  the  East  must  be  Christianized  because  we  are 
moving  out  upon  the  East  in  very  many  different  ways,  and  those  ways 
are  sure  steadily  to  increase.  .  .  .  And  we  cannot  separate  the  different 
forms  in  which  that  movement  of  the  West  upon  the  East  is  taking  place. 
They  are  all  of  them  inextricably  intertwined.  And  every  one  of  them 
is  bound  to  suffer  or  to  benefit  from  the  character  of  the  rest.  Christi- 
anity is  sure  to  be  damaged  in  its  purer  form  of  expression  in  the 
missionary  enterprise  by  everything  that  is  non-Christian  in  all  the 
other  forms  of  the  movement  of  the  West  upon  the  non-Christian 
world.  .  .  . 

We  have  a  right  to  demand  that  the  attitude  of  this  nation  toward 
every  non-Christian  nation  should  be  a  Christian  attitude.  The  idea  of 
war  between  the  American  people  and  any  Asiatic  people  is  preposterous. 
There  are  no  possible  conflicts  in  sight  that  justify  us  in  any  other  atti- 
tude toward  the  whole  non-Christian  world  than  an  attitude  of  sympathy 
and  brotherhood  and  peace.  And  we  are  bound  to  practice  in  our 
national  relations  with  all  of  these  nations  the  same  spirit  of  restraint, 
of  generous  confidence  in  another's  good  will,  of  unselfish  regard  for 
another's  interest,  which  we  regard  ourselves  as  under  obligations  to 
practice  in  our  relationship  one  to  another  as  Christian  men.  Our  news- 
papers should  realize  this  and  behave  with  decency.  So  also  should 
Japan's.     That  is  the  first  thing. 

In  the  second  place,  we  can  do  it  by  making  sure  that  the  men  who 
go  out  to  represent  this  country  in  commerce  and  in  trade  really  represent 
that  which  is  best  and  truest  in  the  land.  The  Government  is  not  to  go 
into  the  business  of  religious  propagandizing.  But  this  country  is  a 
Christian  country.  .  .  .  We  have  a  duty  to  seek  to  make  sure  that  all 
that  goes  out  from  this  nation  to  the  rest  of  the  world,  whether  politically 
or  commercially,  should  justly  represent  the  true  character  of  our  people. 
.  .  .  There  have  been  in  the  past  great  bodies  of  noble  men  who  have 
gone  out  to  represent  the  Western  nations  to  the  Eastern  world  .  .  . 
statesmen  and  merchants  who  carried  their  Christian  character  with  them 
and  who,  wherever  they  were  and  in  all  that  they  did,  stood  unabashed 
and  faithful  as  Christian  men.  We  can  Christianize  the  impact  of  the 
West  upon  the  East  by  making  sure  that  this  kind  of  man  goes  out  to 
represent  us  there. 

In  the  third  place,  we  must  do  it  by  Christianizing  our  trade.  .  .  . 
We  cannot  expect  to  conduct  our  trade  with  the  East  upon  non-Christian 
principles,  and  then  have  the  East  turn  the  other  cheek  to  us  and  practice 
Christian  principles  in  trade  with  us.  We  are  bound  to  carry  on  our 
trade  with  other  nations  on  a  Christian  basis — I  mean  with  honesty,  and 
with  unselfishness,  and  a  desire  for  mutual  helpfulness  and  good. — Robert 
E.  Speer,  "The  Gospel  and  the  New  World,"  pp.  142,  143,  148-150. 


TRADE    RELATIONS    SAFEGUARDED?  47 

The  morphia  that  was  seized  in  the  recent  smuggling  case  in  Shanghai 
was  all  manufactured  in  Philadelphia — a  fact  verified  in  open  court  by  a 
lawyer  of  the  International  Anti-Opium  Association.  It  would  be  a 
criminal  offense  to  ship  this  direct  to  China.  But  there  is  no  law  against 
shipment  to  Japan.  American  traffic  through  the  two  channels  of  British 
goods  in  bond  and  our  own  products  has  reached  vast  proportions  already. 
The  official  statistics  show  that  for  the  first  five  months  of  the  current 
year  [1919]  25,000  ounces  of  morphia  reached  the  port  of  Kobe  from 
American  ports.  But  the  Japan  Chronicle,  published  in  Kobe,  is  re- 
sponsible for  the  statement  that  the  manifestos  of  ships  arriving  in  Kobe 
during  the  same  period  show  about  90,000  more  ounces  not  appearing  in 
the  custom  house  returns.  The  conclusion  is  certain.  This  amount  was 
transhipped  in  Kobe  harbor  to  be  smuggled  into  China.  That  this  shows 
gross  connivance  on  the  part  of  Kobe  port  officials  may  be  argued.  But 
the  primary  responsibility  is  with  the  laws  and  administration  of  the 
United  States.  We  have  become  a  large  partner  in  the  contemptible 
business  of  drugging  China  at  the  time  when  China  is  making  heroic 
efforts  to  emancipate  herself  from  the  narcotic  evil. — John  Dewey,  New 
Republic,  December  24,  1919. 

Economic  Cooperation 

It  is  through  the  development  of  economic  cooperation  that  the 
world-family  will  solidify  itself,  and  the  world-order  will  develop.  A 
league  of  peace  which  deals  only  with  political  questions  is  but  a  paper 
pact.  The  workers  of  the  world  have  gone  beyond  the  intellectuals  in 
that  they  propose  to  give  the  organized  supra-nation  some  task  at  once 
to  accomplish,  and  it  is  only  by  action  that  organisms  develop.  Moreover, 
in  this  they  are  in  actual  tune  with  the  facts  and  needs  of  today,  for  the 
business  of  economic  production  has  now  proceeded  far  beyond  the 
political  organization  of  mankind.  Politically  we  are  living  in  one 
century  and  economically  we  are  living  in  another.  The  artificial  boun- 
daries of  the  states  do  not  correspond  to  the  facts  of  economic  production 
and  exchange,  any  more  than  they  correspond  to  the  ideal  of  fellowship 
and  the  capacity  for  its  enjoyment.  There  are  today  no  independent 
economic  units.  These  absolute  sovereignties,  called  states,  which  exist 
in  political  philosophy  and  practice,  do  not  exist  when  it  comes  to  the 
interdependent  economic  life  of  the  world,  which  crosses  all  frontiers. 
Here  is  the  actual  beginning  of  that  world-family  life  to  which  religion 
seeks  to  call  the  loyalty  of  the  individual  and  of  the  nation. — Harry  F. 
Ward,  "The  Opportunity  for  Religion,"  pp.  64,  65. 


CHAPTER  V 

WHAT  HOPE  IS  THERE  THAT  CHINA  CAN 
BE  SAVED  AS  A  NATION  ? 

I.  How  much  can  we  expect  of  the  Chinese? 

1.  The  Chinese  are  called  the  Anglo-Saxons  of  the  Orient,  and 
are  said  by  travelers  and  missionaries  to  be  a  particularly  able 
race  with  exceptional  qualities  of  leadership.  What  is  your 
estimate  of  Chinese  as  students,  laborers,  business  men,  agri- 
culturists, or  diplomatists  ?    How  did  you  come  by  this  estimate  ? 

2.  n  the  Chinese  are  the  kind  of  people  that  many  claim,  why  are 
400,000,000  Chinese  seemingly  so  impotent  either  to  protect 
themselves  against  foreign  aggression,  or  to  work  out  their 
own  destiny  ?     What  is  the  matter  with  China  ? 

3.  What  potentialities  for  a  national  life  of  high  significance 
does  China  already  have?  What  are  the  great  weaknesses  of 
China  ? 

II.  What  hope  is  there  that  China  can  work  out  her  own 

destiny? 

1.  Does  China's  present  lack  of  national  cohesion  and  adminis- 
trative efficiency  lead  you  to  a  pessimistic  attitude  of  mind 
with  reference  to  her  ultimate  national  destiny?  Why  or  why 
not? 

2.  How  far  is  China's  present  condition  due  to  her  age-long  con- 
servatism, how  far  to  inherent  national  and  racial  weakness, 
how  far  to  the  interference  of  foreign  countries  in  her  internal 
affairs  and  the  attempts  at  exploitation  by  foreign  governments  ? 

3.  It  is  claimed  that  China  has  made  great  progress  in  the  last 
twenty  years.  What  are  the  outstanding  changes  that  have 
taken  place?  What  are  the  indications  that  this  progress  will 
continue  ? 

4.  Do  you  feel  that  if  China  were  guaranteed  that  Japan  and 
other  nations  would  not  interfere  she  could  establish  a  strong 
national  government  and  work  out  her  own  national  destiny? 
Why  or  why  not  ? 

5.  Given  a  truly  worthy  internal  development  in  China,  would 

48 


CAN  CHINA  BE  SAVED  AS  A  NATION?  49 

her  international  position  have  to  be  asserted  by  force  of  arms, 
or  could  this  be  achieved  by  peaceable  means  ? 

6.  To  what  extent  should  President  Wilson's  principle  of  the 
self-determination  of  peoples  hold  for  China,  if  she  seems 
unable  to  achieve  adequate  self-determination  ? 

III.    What  is  best  for  China  and  for  the  world? 

1.  Which  do  you  think  would  be  preferable  for  China:  a  larger 
chance  to  work  out  her  own  destiny,  Japanese  suzerainty, 
division  between  the  powers,  or  some  form  of  international 
commission  or  mandatory  government? 

2.  Which  of  these  would  be  preferable  for  the  Far  East  in 
general,  and  for  the  peace  and  progress  of  the  world  ? 

REFERENCE  MATERIAL 
China's  Basal  Lack 

China,  with  her  old  ordered  life  shattered  and  the  foundations  of  a 
new  order  still  unlaid,  has  discovered  no  stable  government,  largely 
because  she  has  not  bred,  on  a  large  scale,  a  reliable,  powerful,  and  dis- 
interested leadership,  and  is  in  the  grip  of  a  smouldering  civil  war,  so 
persistent  as  to  seem  to  be  almost  endemic. 

Yet,  if  we  look  at  China  alone  ...  we  discover  the  greatest  popula- 
tion in  the  world,  a  people  with  striking  powers  of  endurance  and  con- 
stituting an  inexhaustible  reservoir  of  labor,  with  her  ablest  sons  capable 
of  a  powerful  leadership  that  is  still  largely  undeveloped;  a  country 
having  mineral  resources  of  incalculable  value  and  variety,  with  practi- 
cally every  product  needed  for  the  support  of  the  most  advanced  civiliza- 
tion, including,  incidentally,  enough  coal  of  high  quality  to  provide  the 
whole  world  at  its  present  rate  of  consumption  for  over  a  thousand  years 
and,  alongside  the  coal,  vast  and  indeed  incalculable  stores  of  iron.  This 
people  which  has  already  established  its  7,000  miles  of  railway,  its  com- 
plete postal  system,  its  ironworks  whose  products  successfully  compete 
with  those  of  Pittsburg  and  Bethlehem,  and  its  ramified  wireless  installa- 
tion, is  bound  to  take  a  large  part  in  directing  the  destinies  of  the  future. 
Yet,  at  present,  China  has  not  "found"  herself.  She  tosses  rudderless 
and  defenseless  in  the  tempest  of  the  world's  unrest.  ^'Surely  never 
richer  freight  went  derelict  on  the  waters  of  time." — Basil  Mathews, 
"Essays  on  Vocation,"  p.  6. 

China's  Progress  in  Recent  Years 

The  cleavage  point  between  the  new  and  the  old  in  China's  awaken- 
ing was  the  disastrous  war  with  Japan  in  1894.    Through  that  humilia- 


50  AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

tion,  as  by  one  flash  of  intelligence,  China  came  to  realize  that  she  was 
hopelessly  outclassed  in  efficiency.  .  .  . 

The  first  step  was  throwing  wide  open  the  doors  to  foreign  diplomacy 
and  commerce.  China  joined  the  world.  The  next  step  was  the  institu- 
tion of  Western  science  and  education  as  the  basis  of  her  new  life.  This 
required  a  reconstruction  of  the  educational  system.  The  memorizing 
of  the  classics,  a  mechanical  process  with  slight  relation  to  character 
and  none  at  all  to  practical  efficiency,  had  been  the  backbone  of  her  educa- 
tion for  two  thousand  years.  .  .  .  All  this  was  abolished  at  a  stroke.  .  .  . 
We  find  now  a  complete  system  of  public  schools,  of  primary,  grammar, 
and  high-school  grades,  with  Western  branches — geography,  history, 
physics,  and  chemistry — taught  alongside  of  proper  Chinese  subjects. 
Provincial  universities  for  the  districts  and  the  University  of  Peking  for 
the  nation  at  large  crown  this  admirable  scheme.  The  last  figures  obtain- 
able show  nearly  40,000  public  schools,  with  an  enrolment  above 
1,000,000.  .  .  . 

Transportation  and  commerce  early  demanded  the  attention  of  the 
new  order.  In  the  lack  of  capital,  concessions  were  granted  to  foreign 
corporations,  and  railroad  extension  began  with  a  rush.  ...  By  such 
means  the  Government  has  been  able  to  build  up  an  excellent  post-office 
system  that  reaches  the  leading  cities  and  interior  towns,  and  is  proving 
of  incalculable  value  as  a  binding .  element  for  the  widely  scattered 
districts  and  divergent  populations.  Factories  are  springing  up  at 
commercial  centers,  in  which  Western  machinery  is  taking  the  place  of 
hand  labor.  The  public  press  has  seen  a  remarkable  development.  .  .  . 
China  contains  the  greatest  coal  deposits  in  the  world.  Iron  and 
petroleum  are  abundant.  It  is,  therefore,  a  highly  favorable  sign  that 
stock  companies  are  being  formed  akin  to  those  in  the  West  for  the 
development  of  these  and  other  natural  resources.  The  Chinese  are 
learning  to  trust  one  another.  With  such  vast  wealth  under  their  feet 
they  will  not  always  remain  in  their  present  poverty  and  helplessness. 

The  development  of  governmental  institutions,  like  the  army  and 
navy,  law  courts,  police  protection,  public  sanitation,  a  trained  diplomatic 
service,  have  been  coincident  with  the  growth  of  the  democratic  idea  and 
the  establishing  of  the  republic  in  191 1.  Through  all  the  vicissitudes 
of  the  new  regime  the  great  goal  of  a  Westernized  Orient  has  not  been 
lost  to  sight. 

The  greatest  test  of  all  has  been  China's  willingness  to  give  up  the 
ancient  customs  which  hampered  her  development.  From  the  beginning 
of  history  conquerors  of  alien  civilizations  have  been  brought  up  standing 
when  attempting  to  change  the  customs  of  the  land.  China  has  taken  this 
matter  into  her  own  hands.  .  .  .  The  voluntary  abolition  of  the  queue, 
first  in  the  army,  then  among  students,  then  in  commercial  centers,  and 
now  increasingly  throughout  the  land,  is  a  sufficient  answer  to  those  who 
would  question  the  depth  of  China's  purpose  to  become  an  integral  part 


CAN  CHINA  BE  SAVED  AS  A  NATION?  51 

of  the  world.  If  anything  else  is  needed,  consider  the  prohibition  of  the 
opium  traffic,  which  had  been  forced  upon  China  by  outside  nations,  but 
which  she  dealt  with  in  a  way  peculiarly  her  own.  With  some  25,000,000 
people  addicted  to  the  foreign  drug,  the  passing  and  enforcing  of  a 
prohibitory  measure  was  a  task  from  which  the  most  centralized  and 
favored  nation  might  well  shrink.  Yet  China  cast  out  the  evil  thing  with 
scarcely  a  ripple  of  excitement.  .  .  . 

Taking  it  altogether,  may  it  not  be  said  that  China  has  made  almost 
as  much  progress  in  fifteen  years  as  Japan  made  in  half  a  century? 
When  we  consider  that  these  changes  have  occurred  among  a  people 
until  a  few  years  ago  characterized  as  unresponsive,  inert,  and  hopelessly 
conservative,  regarding  it  a  crime  to  attempt  to  improve  upon  the  past, 
and  holding  the  outside  world  in  scorn,  even  the  best  historical  parallels 
fail  to  impress. — Cornelius  H.  Patton,  "World  Facts  and  America's 
Responsibility,"  pp.  8-13. 

The  permanent  improvements  which  have  been  made  in  hundreds  of 
Chinese  cities  during  the  past  seven  years,  the  roads  built,  the  thousands 
of  small  and  large  industrial  plants  erected,  the  improvements  in  sanita- 
tion, the  schools,  colleges,  and  hospitals  endowed  and  opened,  the  hills 
reforested,  the  mines  developed,  the  newspapers  established,  and  the 
remarkable  growth  of  knowledge  -of  foreign  affairs  during  a  period  of 
unceasing  political  turmoil  punctuated  by  a  series  of  natural  calamities 
and  blanketed  by  a  war-trade  depression,  are  conspicuous  evidences  of 
wholesome  progress  and  of  a  genuine  interest  among  the  people  in  im- 
provements and  innovations.  Although  an  administrative  scandal  in 
Peking  is  cabled  to  every  Occidental  capital  while  the  erection  of  a  new 
factory  in  Wuhu  or  of  a  new  girls'  school  in  Nanking  is  described  locally 
in  an  inconspicuous  paragraph,  we  all  know,  if  we  stop  to  consider,  that 
the  building  of  a  school  or  a  factory  in  the  provinces  is  a  much  more 
significant  omen  of  the  tendencies  of  the  Chinese  people  than  a  squabble 
within  the  mandarin  ranks;  but,  with  politics  so  blatantly  conspicuous, 
it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  be  just  and  fair  to  the  people  who  have  yet  to 
make  their  influence  felt  upon  the  administrative  systems  which  in 
no  sense  represent  them. — North  China  Herald,  July  13,  1918,  p.  65. 

Struggling  toward  a  Larger  National  Life 

Foreigners  who  pretend  to  be  friends  of  the  Chinese  incessantly  harp 
on  the  disturbances  in  China,  saying  that  the  country  is  in  a  state  of 
anarchy,  that  the  Chinese  people  are  not  fit  for  self-government,  and 
that  they  must  be  placed  under  international  tutelage.  Arguments  like 
these  have  been  widely  circulated  by  interested  parties,  whose  sole  aim 
is  to  see  a  weak  China — one  which  will  allow  them  to  perpetuate  their 
control  and  interference  in  the  affairs  of  that  country.  The  Chinese  are 
now  in  the  midst  of  a  great  transformation.    Everywhere  the  old  order 


52  AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

is  changing,  giving  place  to  new.  The  ancient  ideas  and  hoary  traditions 
and  customs  are  being  discarded  and  a  new  scheme  of  life  that  is  foreign 
in  origin  is  being  gradually  absorbed.  Such  a  transition  necessarily 
brings  forth  discord  and  dissension.  For  national  transformation  is 
fundamentally  a  struggle  for  advancement;  it  is  a  conflict  between  the 
new  and  the  old  ideals  of  a  people,  and  the  conflict  will  go  on  until  a 
new  system  is  evolved  and  incorporated  into  the  life  of  the  nation. 
Viewed  in  this  way  the  various  ills  which  have  rendered  China  unsightly 
before  the  eyes  of  the  foreigner  are  nothing  but  the  natural  outcome  of 
the  attempt  to  adjust  a  nation,  that  has  for  hundreds  of  years  been 
isolated  from  the  rest  of  the  world,  to  the  new  environment  created  by  the 
invasion  of  extraneous  ideas  and  the  introduction  of  Western  culture. 

Although  common  to  the  history  of  every  nation  during  its  period 
of  creative  change,  the  internal  disorders  in  China  and  the  different 
complications  that  constitute  what  is  known  as  "the  Chinese  Question" 
have  suffered  severe  criticism  at  the  hands  of  many  a  foreign  writer. 
There  is  really  no  cause  for  discouragement  at  China's  struggle  for  a 
reformed  and  stable  central  government.  Rome  was  not  built  in  a  day. 
Neither  can  a  modern  democracy  be  instituted  in  eight  years  in  a  country 
which  has  had  centuries  of  absolutism.  It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that 
those  Latin-American  republics,  which  today  are  stable  and  prosperous, 
were  for  many  decades 'in  a  state  of  confusion  and  distress,  and  we  must 
not  forget  that  it  took  the  long  years  between  1776  and  1865  fo*"  the  great 
American  nation  to  establish  itself  firmly. — Chong  Su  See,  "The  Foreign 
Trade  of  China,"  pp.  376,  377. 

The  fitness  of  the  Chinese  for  self-government  and  the  possibility 
of  China's  becoming  a  united  and  constitutional  state  should  not  be 
questioned  because  eight  years  of  confusion  and  lack  of  harmony  have 
followed  the  proclamation  of  the  republic.  What  government  in  Europe 
or  America  has  not  passed  through  initial  stages  of  internal  discord, 
marked  by  revolution,  bitter  parliamentary  dissension,  attempted  secession 
of  provinces,  and  civil  war  ?  The  assumption  of  superiority  by  the  white 
man  in  creating  and  maintaining  the  machinery  of  government  is  unfair. 
If  we  compel  non-European  races  to  erect  governments  patterned  after 
our  own  in  order  to  escape  from  our  political  and  economic  yoke,  should 
we  not  give  them  a  little  time  before  hailing  with  delight  their  incapacity 
for  self-government? — Herbert  Adams  Gibbons,  "The  New  Map  of 
Asia,"  pp.  451,  452. 

The  two  conditions  of  all  progress  are  steadfastness  and  mobility. 
Are  not  both  these  conditions  met  in  the  Chinese  people.  What  people 
possess  more  steadfastness?  Three  centuries  ago  the  Manchus  over- 
threw the  Chinese,  but  who  really  was  overthrown?  For  those  three 
centuries  the  Chinese  kept  the  line  of  racial  cleavage  sharp  and  distinct, 
subtly  drained  away  the  energies  of  their  conquerors,  and  now  after  two 


CAN  CHINA  BE  SAVED  AS  A  NATION?  53 

hundred  and  fifty  years  of  steadfastness  of  purpose  have  broken  the  hated 
yoke.  Where  on  earth  is  there  any  other  nation  with  such  abiding  quali- 
ties of  stability  and  endurance?  And  only  those  who  are  ignorant  of 
Chinese  history  can  think  of  the  Chinese  as  impassive  or  immobile.  No 
nation  has  ever  been  shaken  by  mightier  upheavals,  or  responded  more 
readily  to  new  ideals,  or  shown  a  more  unflinching  will  for  moral  change. 
— Robert  E.  Speer,  International  Review  of  Missions,  April,  19 16,  p.  208. 

Waking  Up  or  Just  Turning  Over? 

"The  dormant  giant  is  stirring ;  he  will  soon  rise,  shake  himself,  and 
call  his  tormentors  to  account."  This  is  the  sort  of  rhetoric  which  just 
now  comes  glibly  from  sanguine  friends  of  the  Celestial  Republic. 
Among  knowing  ones  in  the  Far  East  a  quite  different  sentiment  has 
been  appreciatively  savored:  "China  is  not  waking  up:  she's  only  turning 
over  in  her  sleep."  Somewhere  between  the  seers  and  the  cynics  lies  the 
truth;  but  who  shall  say  at  what  distance  from  either  extreme?  .  .  . 

It  must  be  owned  that  there  are  disconcerting  features  in  present-day 
Chinese  life.  "The  Chinese  lavishes  so  much  loyalty  on.  family,  com- 
munity, and  province  that  he  has  none  left  for  the  nation,"  says  a  clever 
returned  student  at  dinner.  "The  country  is  practically  sold  out  now; 
no  wonder  the  Peking  politicians  are  getting  what  they  can,"  declares 
another.  "Oh,  we  always  absorb  any  invaders  in  the  course  of  two  or 
three  centuries,"  is  the  philosophic  dictum  of  a  serene  spectator  of  his 
country's  danger.  In  a  company  of  intelligent,  foreign-trained,  young 
Chinese,  some  of  them  minor  government  officials,  questions  about  the 
composition  of  the  present  legislative  bodies,  the  qualifications  of  the 
electors,  the  number  participating  in  the  voting  and  the  like,  elicit  amused 
replies  or  merely  provoke  gently  ironic  laughter. 

Certain  things  in  China  may  well  cause  apprehension:  the  division 
between  north  and  south,  which  are  terms  of  political  faith  rather  than 
of  geography;  large  armies  unpaid  for  months,  living  on  the  countryside 
and  terrorizing  towns  and  cities ;  bandits  now  and  then  committing  depre- 
dations within  a  few  miles  of  centers  like  Peking  and  Canton ;  a  govern- 
ment vacillating  between  the  demands  of  militarists  and  fear  of  popular 
uprisings ;  revenues  needed  for  constructive  national  tasks  diverted  to  the 
uses  of  clamorous  generals  or  dissipated  in  administration  inefficient  or 
worse;  the  development  of  natural  resources  hindered  by  the  lack  of 
public  order  and  security ;  internal  discord  and  weakness  inviting  aggres- 
sion from  without. 

But  when  the  worst  has  been  said,  there  remain  other  aspects  of 
China  which  are  full  of  hope.  One  marvels  that  in  spite  of  all  the  diffi- 
culties that  have  been  mentioned  the  mighty  current  of  Chinese  life  flows 
on  steadily,  calmly,  irresistibly,  for  the  most  part  in  beds  worn  during  the 
centuries  but  increasingly,  too,  in  newly  broken  channels  of  innovation 


54  AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

and  progress.  China  is  typical  of  a  distracted  world.  If  attention  be 
fixed  solely  upon  the  sorrow,  disease,  poverty,  strife,  bitterness,  and 
suspicion  of  the  present  hour,  it  is  well-nigh  impossible  to  escape  despair. 
But  when  one  takes  account  of  the  persistent,  normal,  upbuilding  influ- 
ences at  work  in  the  world,  he  takes  heart  again.  So  with  China.  There 
is  a  dark  side,  but  there  is  also  a  bright  and  encouraging  side.  .  .  . 

The  cynical  may  smile  at  the  mention  of  the  Republic;  they  may 
deride  the  senate  and  the  lower  house.  The  fact  remains  that  the 
Manchus  rule  no  longer.  The  forms  of  republican  government  may  for 
the  moment  seem  somewhat  to  mock  the  Chinese  people,  but  these  very 
forms  and  names  mark  a  sharp  and  dramatic  break  with  the  old  order. 
They  serve  as  symbols  of  a  new  regime,  suggesting  modern  ideas,  and 
inviting  to  a  fuller  realization  of  them.  The  Chinese  are  not  to  be 
hurried  too  rapidly.  They  must  be  gradually  inoculated  with  novel 
theories.  They  are  becoming  accustomed  to  the  language  of  popular 
government;  in  time  they  may  demand  not  only  the  rhetoric  but  the 
reality  of  republican  institutions. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  present  government  in  Peking  is  by  no 
means  an  irresponsible  autocracy.  Of  late  it  has  had  to  reckon  with  an 
organized  and  powerful  public  opinion,  and  unmistakable  feeling  of  na- 
tionality. Under  the  leadership  of,  the  "students" — that  is,  not  only  school 
boys  and  girls  and  college  graduates,  but  alumni  as  well — and  organiza- 
tions of  business  men,  a  sense  of  national  unity  and  of  national  danger  has 
been  astonishingly  extended  and  deepened.  A  jealousy  of  encroach- 
ments from  without,  a  suspicion  that  men  in  authority  are  disloyal  to  the 
country,  a  demand  for  international  justice,  a  program  of  industrial 
autonomy  have  manifested  themselves  in  striking  ways.  This  national 
consciousness  seems  to  have  penetrated  the  remotest  parts  of  the  Republic. 
The  "wiseacres"  of  the  treaty  ports  admit  that  this  is  a  novel  phenom- 
enon. There  may  be  something  in  the  awaking  giant  idea  after  all. — 
George  E.  Vincent,  American  Review  of  Reviews,  November,  19 19,  pp. 
515,  516,  518. 

China's  Economic  Problems 

The  world  is  deeply  interested  in  the  awakening  of  China.  It  is 
difficult  for  a  people  who  are  accustomed  to  an  environment  of  modern 
industrialism  to  appreciate  the  significance  to  the  world  at  large  of  the 
transition  of  a  population,  equivalent  to  one-fifth  of  that  of  the  earth  or 
nearly  that  of  the  whole  of  Europe,  from  a  medieval  civilization  to  one 
which  will  bring  it  into  tune  with  what  the  West  has  given  the  world 
during  the  past  century  in  scientific,  industrial,  and  social  developments. 
The  changes  which  the  Chinese  people  will  experience  during  the  next 
few  decades  are  so  stupendous  in  their  significance  to  themselves  and  to 
the  world  at  large  that  we  can  have  no  conception  of  their  immensity. 


CAN  CHINA  BE  SAVED  AS  A  NATION?  55 

China  is  about  to  recruit  a  vast  army  of  men  and  women  soon  to 
pass  from  the  household  and  field  to  the  modern  factory.  Probably  eighty 
per  cent  of  its  population  is  still  agricultural,  and  a  somewhat  larger 
percentage  of  the  industry  is  of  the  domestic,  handicraft  character,  but  the 
inrush  of  modern  ideas,  modern  materials,  and  modern  organization  is 
coming  so  rapidly  that  China's  society  is  soon  to  be  overwhelmed  by  it. 

With  a  country  larger  in  area  than  the  United  States,  marvelously 
wealthy  in  natural  resources  and  possessing  a  population  of  industrious, 
democratic,  peaceful,  good-natured  peoples,  with  the  potentialities  men- 
tally and  physically  of  any  other  race,  with  a  rich  culture  which  has 
filtered  down  through  the  entire  mass,  the  resultant  of  the  four  or 
five  thousands  of  years  of  their  civilization,  and  on  a  continent  which 
can  claim  fifty-one  per  cent  of  the  earth's  inhabitants,  China  has  a 
wonderful  future  in  the  modern  economic  world.  Its  people  are  gifted 
with  a  mechanical  instinct,  are  quick  to  learn,  and,  given  the  advantages 
of  modern  popular  education  and  an  effective  modern  governmental 
administration  which  they  are  capable  of  developing,  there  are  no  limita- 
tions to  their  possibilities.  There  is  no  caste  among  the  people.  Gener- 
ally speaking,  the  only  difference  between  one  Chinese  and  another  is 
difference  in  opportunity.  One  shudders  as  he  looks  out  over  the  horizon 
of  the  new  era  in  China  and  realizes  the  gravity  of  the  problems  which 
confront  these  people  in  their  transition  from  their  past  secluded,  simple, 
pastoral  laissez-faire  existence  to  the  modern,  highly  organized  industrial 
society,  rendered  many  fold  more  complex  by  its  relations  with  the  out- 
side world,  more  especially  with  those  of  its  neighbors. 

The  fact  that  the  nation  and  the  communities  have  not  as  yet  enacted 
factory  legislation,  made  provisions  for  sanitation  in  connection  with 
their  civic  and  industrial  life,  or  developed  a  body  of  corporate  law, 
indicates  the  tardiness  of  the  country  in  modern  industrialism.  Are  the 
four  hundred  millions  of  China  doomed  to  struggle  through  the  same  ex- 
periences in  their  adjustments  and  in  the  relationships  between  labor 
and  capital  as  have  marked  the  progress  of  Western  society ;  or  will  their 
people  profit  by  what  the  West  has  learned  and  build  their  social  structure 
upon  a  sounder  foundation  because  of  this  knowledge?  .  .  . 

Not  only  is  China  confronted  with  adjusting  itself  to  modern  in- 
dustrialism .  .  .  but  it  has  an  equally  great  problem  in  that  of  modern 
transportation.  At  present  six-sevenths  of  China's  population  is  con- 
centrated in  one-third  its  area — that  of  the  south  and  east,  which  is  rich 
in  waterways,  although  there  are  hundreds  of  thousands  of  acres  of  fertile 
lands  in  the  north  and  west  dependent  upon  land  transportation  still  to  be 
opened  to  development.  Huge  areas  in  west  China,  though  fairly  well 
populated,  are  cut  off  from  economic  communication  with  the  outside 
world  because  of  lack  of  railways.  There  are  also,  in  Central  Asia  and 
Siberia,  empires  rich  in  virgin  resources  still  to  be  colonized  and  opened 
to   modern   development.     Railways   carry   with   them   protection.    De- 


56  AMERICA'S   STAKE   IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

velopment  will  follow  in  their  wake  even  without  effort  on  the  part  of 
the  Government.  We  have  only  to  witness  the  signal  success  of  Chinese 
settlers  in  the  Philippines,  Java,  the  Straits  Settlements,  and  other  sec- 
tions where  transportation  facilities  have  made  it  possible  for  them  to 
settle,  to  appreciate  the  ease  with  which  Chinese  populations  flow  into 
areas  where  colonization  is  made  possible.  In  a  sense,  China's  problems 
all  center  about  that  of  transportation.  Give  the  country  the  railways 
needed  to  bring  all  sections  into  connection  with  the  sea  and  give  it  access 
to  Central  Asia,  provided  that  we  do  so  without  involving  the  country  in 
grave  political  complications  with  other  powers,  and  that  it  can  be  done 
for  the  welfare  of  the  Chinese  people,  which  in  the  broader  sense  will  be 
for  the  welfare  of  others  as  well — and  we  shall  witness  an  economic 
transformation  following  therefrom  which  will  astound  the  world  in 
the  immensity  of  its  proportions.  Industry,  agriculture,  and  commerce 
may  all  be  revolutionized  with  the  solution  of  China's  great  transportation 
problem,  and  a  new  economic  order  prevail,  but  this  new  order  will  bring 
with  it  new  problems,  affecting  all  phases  of  the  life  of  the  people. — 
Julean  Arnold,  Chinese  Recorder,  August,  1919,  p.  517. 

There  will  be  no  hasty  transformation  of  scene  in  China,  which 
would  be  as  disastrous  to  her  as  an  over-investment  of  capital.  China's 
hope  lies  not  in  a  sudden  revolutionary  destruction  of  the  old  order,  but  in 
slow,  steady  growth,  by  educative  processes,  which  shall  enable  the  nation 
to  adapt  itself  gradually  to  its  changed  environment.  Only  in  a  very 
small  degree  have  the  Chinese  begun  to  realize  the  idea  of  nationality, 
of  a  central  government,  of  a  uniform  legal  system,  and  of  taxation  as 
distinguished  from  tribute  and  official  perquisites.  Left  now  to  work  out 
her  own  salvation  on  these  and  other  lines,  China's  progress  would  be 
painfully  slow  and  surely  harmful  to  foreign  interests:  therefore  the 
necessity  of  a  mild  and  friendly  form  of  international  finaacial  "control," 
at  least  in  such  matters  as  affect  the  foreigner  directly. — T.  W.  Overlach, 
"Foreign  Financial  Control  in  China,"  p.  279. 

Ignorance  and  Dishonest  Officialdom  in  China 

China  has  given  during  the  year  [19 19]  a  very  striking  demonstra- 
tion of  a  quality  which  it  had  been  generally  supposed  her  people  did 
not  possess — the  spirit  of  national  patriotism.  The  protest  which  was 
evoked  throughout  the  land  by  the  action  of  the  Peace  Conference,  in 
regard  to  the  transfer  of  the  rights  previously  possessed  by  Germany 
under  the  treaty  of  Kiaochow,  exhibited  a  unanimity  and  a  depth  of 
feeling  entirely  new  in  the  Chinese  treatment  of  the  relations  of  the 
Central  Government  with  foreign  powers.  It  would  be  too  much  to  say 
that  the  old  provincial  point  of  view  is  a  thing  of  the  past ;  but  it  marks 
an  enormous  advance  toward  a  pervasive  national  consciousness  to  have 
a  question  like  this  of  Shantung  plainly  affect  all  classes  of  the  population 


CAN  CHINA  BE  SAVED  AS  A  NATION?  57 

and  form  the  occasion  of  demonstrations  by  students  and  merchants, 
which  fulfilled  the  purpose  of  driving  certain  obnoxious  high  function- 
aries from  office.  The  students  have  shown  themselves  to  be  a  power 
with  which  the  Government  must  reckon,  and  if  that  power  is  to  be 
exerted  in  the  right  way  it  may  regenerate  their  country. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  in  the  attitude  of  the  foreign-educated 
students  toward  the  vital  problems  now  facing  China  there  is  an  absence 
of  practical  political  sense.  Their  spokesmen  are  greatly  addicted  to  the 
use  of  the  catchwords  of  the  Western  defenders  of  popular  freedom,  quite 
ignoring  the  two  great  problems  that  have  to  be  solved  before  China  can 
be  judged  capable  of  self-government — ^the  rescue  from  the  darkness  of 
ignorance  of  the  underlying  mass  of  the  population,  and  the  acquirement 
by  all  grades  of  the  office-holding  class  of  respect  for  the  standards  of 
public  honesty  accepted  by  other  great  nations.  Young  China  seems  to 
be  fully  awake  to  the  necessity  for  public  education,  but  in  none  of 
its  manifestos  can  there  be  found  any  reference  to  the  crying  need  of 
common  honesty  in  high  places.  In  an  appeal  for  Western  sympathy 
issued  by  one  of  the  Chinese  plenipotentiaries  at  the  Peace  Conference, 
stress  is  laid  on  the  ardent  desire  of  the  people  of  China  to  retain  the 
republican  form  of  government,  but  the  fact  is  ignored  that  the  chief 
danger  to  the  established  political  order  is  to  be  found  in  the  militarist 
Tuchunate,*  whose  arrogant  dictation  renders  the  nominal  existence  of 
free  institutions  a  farce.  When  the  Chinese  intelligentsia  have  succeeded 
in  freeing  their  country  from  this  incubus,  they  will  have  a  better  chance 
to  command  attention  for  questions  which  they  have  lately  been  dragging 
into  the  forum  of  discussion,  such  as  the  abolition  of  spheres  of  foreign 
influence,  the  surrender  of  extraterritoriality,  and  the  attainment  of  tariff 
autonomy. — John  Foord,  Asia,  December,  19 19,  p.  1262. 

The  Place  of  Chinese  Christian  Women  in  the  Development  of 
China 

Let  us  say  it  with  all  due  reverence  and  humility :  Chinese  Christian 
womanhood  will  be  the  most  potent  factor  in  the  regeneration  of  China. 
.  .  .  The  hope  of  China  lies  in  the  spread  and  growth  of  Christianity  in 
this  country.  Who  can  promote  this  growth  better  than  the  Christian 
women  of  China?  Theirs  will  be  not  only  "the  hand  that  rocks  the 
cradle,"  but  the  mind  to  direct  young  China  on  its  way,  and  the  soul 
which  shall  enable  adult  China  to  cling  to  its  way  along  the  narrow  path 
of  righteousness  and  truth.  China  cannot  develop  without  sweeping  away 
all  that  is  wrong  and  false,  and  who  can  do  this  clearing  better  than  the 
Christian  women?  Theirs  will  be  the  hand  to  raise  a  high  standard, 
theirs  to  demand  a  cleaner  record,  and  a  sterner  probity  in  all  strata  of 
society.     Theirs  will  be  the  voice  to  negative  the  debasing  practice  of 

*  Military  governorship. 


58  AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

concubinage,  theirs  to  claim  freedom  from  the  subtle  bondage  of  an- 
cestral worship  and  the  demoralizing  vices  of  gambling  and  opium  smok- 
ing. Ultimately  theirs  will  be  the  vote  to  decide  whether  China  shall  be 
democratic  in  name  or  in  truth.  There  is  nothing  boastful  in  these  state- 
ments. All  who  are  familiar  with  Chinese  history  know  that,  compared 
with  other  heathen  countries,  her  women  are  held  in  higher  esteem  and 
consideration.  Christianity  alone  can  crown  her  and  give  her  an  equal 
share  in  the  home  and  nation,  and  it  is  the  Christian  women  who  must 
come  forward  and  assist  in  the  development  of  the  country. 

Already  in  thousands  of  Christian  homes  they  are  laying  the  founda- 
tion of  a  more  Christ-like  character  in  the  lives  of  children,  and  these 
little  ones  will  become  the  pillars  of  state.  Unlike  the  students  of  old 
they  are  willing  to  work  with  their  hands  as  well  as  with  their  minds, 
and  the  double  toil  will  enable  them  so  much  the  more,  so  that  the  results 
of  their  labor  will  be  the  production  of  a  new  race,  not  effeminate 
but  strong  and  masterful  and  capable  of  accomplishing  all  that  is  required 
of  them  whether  in  the  home  or  state.  Their  spiritual  welfare  will  be 
fostered  also  by  these  same  Christian  mothers.  Thus  grace  of  mind  will 
be  enhanced  by  the  moral  beauty  of  the  soul.  A  true  race  of  patriots 
will  arise  who  will  scorn  self-seeking  and  by  the  integrity  of  their  lives 
prove  that  Christianity  has  the  power  to  save  men  whether  white  or 
yellow.  Japan  then  will  not  be  able  to  coerce  China,  when  the  Christian 
element  will  be  strong  enough  to  crush  traitors. — Ida  Kahn,  M.D., 
Chinese  Recorder,  October,  1919,  pp.  659,  660. 

Christianity  and  the  Leveling  Up  o£  Life 

The  whole  point  is  that,  if  the  four  hundred  millions  of  Chinese 
people  are  to  be  forced  to  fight  for  their  own  existence  and  to  get  hold 
for  themselves  of  the  "strong  mailed  fist,"  there  will  be  a  terrible  war 
between  the  white  peoples  and  the  Chinese.  But  the  Chinese  do  not  be- 
lieve in  war ;  the  Chinese  believe  in  moral  forces  to  build  up  a  civilization 
of  a  high  order.  We  believe  in  what  Sir  Douglas  Haig  said — the  leveling 
up  of  the  whole  social  life.  The  growth  of  China  from  a  small  state  of 
three  or  four  million  square  miles  of  territory  has  been  created  through 
moral  forces.  It  was  a  process  of  leveling  up  the  surrounding  tribes  and 
people.  Our  literature,  our  philosophy,  and  our  idealism  have  gone  with 
us  and,  as  it  were,  converted  the  surrounding  tribes. 

Coming  into  contact  now,  however,  with  ^  Christian  civilization,  we 
find  a  higher  order  still  of  idealism  based  on  a  conception  of  mutual 
service.  If  the  Western  people  now  will  endeavor  to  help  China  in 
her  transition  from  the  old  order  into  the  new  order,  through  the 
process  of  leveling  up  instead  of  leveling  down,  then  the  world  will 
have  an  assurance  of  peace  and  the  League  of  Nations  will  become  a 
reality.     We  younger  men  in  China  are  doing  our  best  to  convince  China 


CAN  CHINA  BE  SAVED  AS  A  NATION?  59 

to  go  against  militarism  and  to  develop  on  democratic  lines.  We  are 
firmly  convinced  that  our  cherished  idealism,  our  belief  that  war  is  a 
curse,  is  correct;  that  the  nations  can  adjust  their  differences  through  a 
right  conception  of  the  relation  between  nation  and  nation,  and  through 
the  supremacy  of  international  law  over  violence  and  physical  force. 
In  our  effort  to  establish  a  true  democracy  in  China  we  are  convinced 
that  an  effective  way  of  realizing  our  objective  is  to  bring  Christianity 
to  the  Chinese  people. — Dr.  C.  T.  Wang,  Chinese  Peace  Commissioner, 
in  an  interview  with  the  representative  of  the  Westminster  Gazette  as 
quoted  in  the  London  and  China  Express  of  May  22,  1919,  and  in  the 
Chinese  Recorder,  August,  1919,  p.  512. 

The  Only  Hope 

The  only  hope  for  the  future  of  the  world  lies  in  the  universal 
recognition  and  application  of  those  ideas  of  international  order,  justice, 
and  brotherhood  which  Christ  proclaimed,  and  of  which  the  foreign 
missionary  enterprise  is  the  organized  expression.  All  other  ties 
snapped  in  the  war.  Science,  philosophy,  education,  commerce — each 
and  all  failed  to  hold  the  world  together.  Labor  and  socialism  came 
nearer  than  any  of  them  to  maintaining  a  kind  of  unity;  but  they,  too, 
were  soon  rent  apart.  The  home  churches  were  as  widely  sundered  as 
other  interests.  Foreign  missions  alone  preserved  the  international  idea. 
.  .  .  No  political  adjustments  between  governments  can  create  enduring 
peace  unless  they  rest  upon  a  foundation  of  righteousness  and  good  will ; 
and  these  are  precisely  the  foundations  which  the  missionary  enterprise  is 
laying.  Treaties  are  no  stronger  than  the  moral  character  of  the  peoples 
that  make  them,  and  missionary  work  makes  moral  character.  .  .  .  The 
special  service  that  foreign  missions  can  render  in  rightly  influencing  the 
pressing  world  problems  in  eastern  Asia  was  well  expressed  by  Viscount 
James  Bryce,  when  he  said  that  the  jarring  contact  of  many  nations  in 
the  Far  East  today  imperatively  calls  for  the  strengthening  of  foreign 
missionary  work,  which,  he  declared,  must  be  the  chief  influence  in 
smoothing  that  contact,  in  allaying  irritation,  and  in  creating  those  con- 
ditions of  international  good  will  which  are  essential  to  the  preservation 
of  world  peace;  and  he  added:  "The  one  sure  hope  of  a  permanent 
foundation  for  world  peace  lies  in  the  extension  throughout  the  world  of 
the  principles  of  the  Christian  Gospel." — Arthur  J.  Brown,  "The  Mastery 
of  the  Far  East,"  pp.  485,  486. 


CHAPTER  VI 

HOW  MUCH  HAS  CHINA  A  RIGHT  TO 
EXPECT  OF  AMERICA  ? 

I.  Has  America  really  been  a  friend  to  China? 

1.  Some  say  America  has  proved  untrue  to  China  and  deserted 
her  in  the  Peace  Conference  in  allowing  Shantung  to  go  to 
Japan.    What  do  you  think  about  it? 

2.  What  things  has  America  done  in  the  past  that  showed  her  to 
be  a  friend  of  China ;  what  things  has  she  done  that  would  make 
China  doubtful  of  this  friendship? 

3.  Why  has  America  shown  herself  friendly  to  China?  How 
far  has  America  followed  her  policy  from  altruistic  motives,  and 
how  far  because  she  considered  it  good  national  life  insurance  ? 

4.  Why  has  China  looked  to  the  United  States  for  continued 
friendship?  Why  does  China  today  set  such  a  high  estimate 
on  the  friendship  of  the  United  States  ? 

II.  Just  how  far  is  the  integrity  and  development  of  China 

essential  to  the  welfare  of  all  the  nations  on  the  Pacific? 

1.  If  China  should  fail  in  her  attempt  to  establish  a  republic, 
and  should  be  taken  over  by  Japan,  or  be  divided  between  the 
powers,  in  what  ways,  if  at  all,  would  this  have  an  unfavorable 
effect  upon  the  United  States  ? 

2.  What  effect  would  the  break-up  of  China  have  upon  the 
danger  of  war  over  Far-Eastern  matters  ?  Would  or  would  not 
the  United  States  be  likely  to  be  involved  in  such  a  war  ? 

III.  What,  if  anything,  should  America  do  to  help  save  China 
as  a  nation? 

1.  To  what  extent  is  America  morally  obligated  to  stand  by 
China  in  this  time  of  crisis?  How  far  would  she  be  justified 
in  going  to  prevent  Japanese  or  other  foreign  aggression  and  to 
help  China  work  out  her  own  destiny  ? 

2.  If  China  is  given  a  chance  to  work  out  her  own  destiny,  what 
do  you  feel  that  America  could  do  to  help  her  make  good  ? 

3.  Appraise  honestly  the  relative  value  in  fending  off  foreign 

60 


CHINA'S  EXPECTATIONS  FROM  AMERICA?        6i 

aggression  and  in  guaranteeing  China's  integrity  of  diplomatic 
help ;  loans  to  the  Government  and  for  private  enterprises ;  pro- 
viding for  the  education  in  America  of  potential  Chinese 
leaders;  and  increase  of  missionary  work. 

4.  How  far  should  America  go  ?  Suppose  it  involved  sacrifice 
and  disadvantage  to  the  United  States,  would  you  or  would  you 
not  vote  for  our  undertaking  the  responsibility? 

5.  If  China  proves  unable  to  work  out  her  own  destiny  without 
foreign  intervention  of  some  kind,  just  what  processes  of 
friendly  helpfulness  from  America  do  you  feel  would  do  most 
to  hasten  the  commercial,  industrial,  intellectual,  and  moral 
stabilizing  of  Chinese  life,  so  that  at  the  earliest  hour  possible 
the  Chinese  people  might  again  assume  full  control  of  their  own 
national  affairs  ?  Consider  this  question  from  the  point  of  view 
of  your  own  appraisal  of  the  assets  of  American  life  and  char- 
acter which  might  be  mobilized  for  these  purposes  and  also  take 
into  consideration  the  attitude,  so  far  as  you  can  judge  it,  of  the 
Chinese  towards  various  methods  of  helpfulness  which  have 
already  been  tried  or  which  might  be  proposed. 

REFERENCE   MATERIAL 
The  Failure  o£  Justice  to  China  at  Versailles 

That  in  some  way  China  has  come  out  of  the  recent  war  settlement 
with  less  of  consideration  as  a  disorganized  nation,  and  less  of  justice  as 
a  fellow-member  of  the  world  fraternity,  is  generally  conceded.  As  to 
the  placing  of  the  blame  therefor,  wide  and  conscientious  differences  of 
opinion  exist.  Some  would  go  back  to  Germany,  some  would  charge  it 
all  up  to  Japan,  others  find  the  cause  in  American  diplomatic  weakness, 
still  others  lay  it  to  certain  treaties,  as  to  which  there  is  again  difference 
of  opinion  as  to  whether  they  should  have  been  made,  yet  since  they  have 
come  into  existence  many  conscientiously  feel  that  honor  is  involved  in 
their  being  kept.  Yet  others  would  blame  a  certain  section  of  the  Chinese 
people  for  involving  their  country,  through  treaties  and  loans.  We  can- 
not claim  to  know  all  the  ramifications  of  the  situation.  In  part  what  has 
happened  is  due  to  general  failure  on  the  part  of  all  concerned  to  live  up 
fully  to  the  ideals  of  the  "Fourteen  Points."  There  has  been,  however, 
a  persistent  note  in  recent  books  and  articles  coming  from  many  quarters, 
that  justice  has  not  been  done  to  China.  Whether  this  mistake  must  be 
undone  by  an  "act  of  grace"  on  the  part  of  Japan,  by  concerted  action  by 
all  the  Powers,  or  by  the  League  of  Nations,  is  a  problem  we  are  unable 
even  to  attempt  to  solve.  Yet  inasmuch  as  commerce  is  now  the  greatest 
"political  interest,"  and  Christianity  has  so  much  political  significance 
that  the  "powers  that  be"  talk  of  curbing  its  activity,  and  we  believe. 


62  AMERICA'S   STAKE   IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

furthermore,  that  even  politics  could  and  ought  to  be  Christian,  we  cannot 
keep  quiet !  We  sympathize  with  the  very  natural  resentment  of  the 
Chinese  people  at  the  way  their  territory  is  assigned  to  others.  We 
believe  that  justice  should  be  done,  and  that  against  this,  as  well  as  all 
other  injustice,  the  Christian  Church  needs  prophets  to  protest.  There  is 
a  real  danger  that  to  patriotic  Chinese  the  Christian  nations  will  seem 
to  acquiesce  in  this  unjust  action.  A  way  must  be  found  to  undo  this 
injustice.  China  seems  to  lack  a  friend  disinterested  enough  to  try 
first  of  all  to  secure  for  her  justice. — Editorial,  Chinese  Recorder, 
October,  1919,  pp.  650,  651. 

In  the  discussion  and  solution  of  no  problem  before  the  Conference 
of  Paris  were  the  insincerity  and  bad  faith  of  the  great  powers  more 
apparent  than  in  the  disposition  of  the  Shangtung  question.  The  facts  of 
history  were  distorted.  The  principles  for  which  the  Entente  powers  and 
the  United  States  declared  they  had  fought  were  ignored.  The  powers 
showed  their  inability  to  rise  to  the  high  level  of  international  morality 
essential  for  the  creation  of  a  society  of  nations.  Instead  of  trying  to 
lay  the  foundations  of  a  durable  peace  in  the  Far  East,  the  statesmen  of 
the  Entente  powers  and  the  United  States  decided  for  the  continuation  of 
a  policy  that  has  provoked  several  wars  and  given  rise  to  injustice  and 
oppression.  For  the  European  powers  and  Japan,  the  solution  proposed 
for  the  Shangtung  question  was  the  holding  fast  to  traditions  and  prac- 
tices of  the  past.  For  the  United  States,  it  was  the  abandonment  by  our 
Government  of  the  idealism  and  disinterestedness  that  for  more  than 
half  a  century  have  characterized  American  diplomacy  in  the  Far  East. 

The  solution  of  the  Shangtung  question  incorporated  in  the  treaty 
dictated  to  Germany  is  the  triumph  of  the  policy  of  economic  exploitation 
through  political  blackmail,  against  which  John  Hay  and  his  predecessors 
in  the  American  State  Department  struggled  with  skill  and  a  large 
measure  of  success. — Herbert  Adams  Gibbons,  "The  New  Map  of 
Asia,  1900-1919,"  pp.  285,  286. 

American  Friendship  for  China 

The  "open  door"  of  the  twentieth  century  is  in  all  essential  respects 
the  same  objective  that  was  desired  by  our  countrymen  who  first  sailed 
around  the  Cape  to  compete  in  a  world  market  without  expectation  of 
support  from  naval  forces  behind  them. 

In  the  hundred  years  since  that  intercourse  began  we  have  refused 
to  yield  to  the  temptation  presented  by  military  weakness  unexpectedly 
exposed.  We  have  steadily  refrained  from  coercing  a  helpless  people 
ourselves,  though  we  have  not  denied  to  others  their  right  to  defend 
their  commercial  and  political  interests  by  stern  measures,  nor  have 
we  shown  any  quixotic  reluctance  to  reap  from  these  measures  the  bene- 
fits that  accrued  to  all.    We  have  accepted  no  cessions  of  territory,  even 


CHINA'S  EXPECTATIONS  FROM  AMERICA?        63 

at  the  treaty  ports.  We  have  never  menaced  the  territorial  integrity  of 
China  and  have  been  among  the. foremost  in  upholding  her  sovereign 
right  to  her  own  soil.  However  fatuous  and  unfair  our  treatment  of 
Chinese  in  America,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  we  have  endeavored  to  treat 
the  Chinese  Empire  as  honorably  as  other  countries  and  have  consistently 
desired  to  include  men  of  every  race  and  color  in  the  great  family  of 
nations,  so  soon  as  they  could  prove  their  birthright  by  the  plain  tests  of 
morality  and  culture.  And,  finally,  we  have  declined  at  all  times  to  force 
upon  an  unwilling  people  our  scientific  and  economic  methods  of  industry 
or  transportation,  or  to  take  possession  of  their  affairs  in  the  proud  and 
selfish  conviction  that  we  could  manage  them  better  than  they  could 
themselves.  In  policy,  if  not  always  in  performance,  America  in  her 
relations  with  China  has  tried  fairly  to  maintain  the  high  ideals  of  a 
Christian  nation. 

The  chief  blemish  in  the  conduct  of  American  relations  with  China 
is,  of  course,  our  treatment  of  her  subjects  in  the  United  States.  I  have 
no  excuse  or  palliation  to  offer  for  conduct  in  which  our  national  honor 
has  been  compromised  for  the  sake  of  a  group  of  unscrupulous  politicians 
in  the  Pacific  coast  states,  but  it  is  at  the  same  time  true  that  to  our 
previous  fairness  toward  China  has  been  due  her  patience  under  indig- 
nities received  at  our  hands.  Unhappily  for  our  own  credit,  it  is  now 
evident  that,  as  a  people,  we  spoiled  our  case  with  China  by  mere  blunder- 
ing. Had  political  societies  and  state  legislatures  been  sufficiently 
far-sighted  to  restrain  their  impatience  in  the  presence  of  a  supposed 
menace  of  invasion  by  Chinese  workmen,  it  would  at  any  moment  have 
been  possible  to  adjust  the  matter  of  Chinese  immigration  with  the  Gov- 
ernment in  Peking.  As  it  was,  we  placed  ourselves  in  the  wrong, 
violating  our  treaty  stipulations  while  insisting  that  China  should  fulfill 
hers.  In  spite,  nevertheless,  of  just  causes  for  resentment  the  Chinese 
authorities,  mindful  of  past  mercies,  have  acquitted  themselves  with 
decorum  and  conceded  to  us  the  further  restrictions  demanded  of  them. 
Their  conduct  is  a  notable  instance  of  the  political  value  of  long-continued 
friendly  relations  when  unexpected  circumstances  may  suddenly  threaten 
to  overturn  them. — Dr.  F.  W.  Williams,  "China  and  the  Far  East," 
Clark  University  Lectures,  pp.  82,  70. 

American  Altruism  in  the  Treatment  o£  China 

I  imagine  the  British  Government  stating  its  case  [in  regard  to  the 
Hay  Doctrine  of  the  "Open  Door"  in  China],  confidentially,  something 
like  this :  "YoiJi  Americans  want  to  keep  the  door  open  in  China,  so  that 
your  commerce  and  your  finance  can  enter  on  equal  terms.  You  also 
want  to  maintain  the  integrity  and  autonomy  of  China.  You  have  moral 
grounds  for  this — ^justice  and  humanity  and  the  integrity  of  treaties,  and 
all  that — and  we  will  give  you  credit  for  a  reasonable  amount  of  genuine 


64  AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

altruism ;  your  national  record  entitles  you  to  that.  But  deeper  than  that, 
you  begin  to  see  that  there  in  time  may  be  an  Oriental  peril  for  you.  You 
have  seen  within  a  few  years  a  small  Oriental  nation  rise  to  be  a  for- 
midable power  by  learning  and  applying  Western  military  science;  from 
that  you  reason  that  if  this  method  and  disposition  are  communicated  to 
the  whole  of  eastern  Asia,  and  that  region  becomes  consolidated  under 
one  arrogant  and  aggressive  and  predatory  government,  then  you  had 
better  look  out  lest  the  weight  of  that  impact  will  be  thrown  against  your 
country,  and  your  institutions,  and  your  standards  of  life." — Thomas  F. 
Millard,  "Our  Eastern  Question,"  pp.  377,  378. 

Just  as  by  the  Monroe  Doctrine  we  seek  to  prevent  European  powers 
from  conquering,  colonizing,  and  dividing  up  America,  so  in  China,  our 
interest,  apart  from  a  share  of  the  trade  and  investment  chances,  lies  in 
contributing  to  the  world's  peace  by  removing  that  vast  territory  from  the 
field  of  international  political  competition.  What  we  should  mean  by 
"the  open  door"  in  China  is  the  integrity  of  that  country  and  its  immunity 
from  conquest,  partition,  and  forced  exploitation.  The  plea  of  an  "open 
door"  as  a  mere  tariff  policy  comes  with  ill  grace  from  us,  who  have 
closed  the  door  both  in  Porto  Rico  and  at  home,  but  China's  integrity  is 
an  issue  of  a  different  character.  It  is  important  to  us  not  so  much  for 
immediate  economic  reasons  as  because  it  is  likely  to  promote  peace. 
It  is  a  world,  rather  than  a  national,  interest. 

Because  it  is  a  world  interest,  it  should  be  secured  by  the  efforts  of 
many  nations  and  not  by  the  United  States  alone. — Walter  E.  Weyl, 
"American  World  Policies,"  pp.  213-215. 

The  Friendship  o£  China  for  America 

Of  the  friendship  of  China  for  America  today  there  can  be  no  ques- 
tion. The  Chinese  look  to  the  United  States  as  a  relatively  disinterested 
nation  that  has  the  desire  and  the  power  to  secure  for  them  freedom  and 
fair  play.  There  is  something  pathetic  in  this  faith.  Surely,  they  say, 
the  country  that  declined  to  accept  an  indemnity,  that  never  seized  any 
Chinese  territory,  that  has  sent  thousands  of  men  and  women  to  do  un- 
selfish deeds  of  mercy  and  benevolence,  that  has  fought  in  a  world  war 
in  behalf  of  self-government  and  of  justice  among  nations,  will  not  fail 
a  people  who  are  seeking  to  realize  for  themselves  American  ideals  of 
representative  government  and  of  national  independence  and  dignity. 

The  embarrassment  which  such  an  appeal  involves  is  obvious.  The 
situation  in  the  Far  East  is  complex,  difficult,  almost  baffling.  It  contains 
perhaps  the  germs  of  another  mighty  conflict.  To  fix  sole  responsibility 
upon  any  one  nation  is  unfair  and  futile.  It  is  a  world  problem,  the  solu- 
tion of  which  demands  magnanimity  and  sacrifice  by  all  the  interests 
concerned.  The  Chinese  look  to  the  United  States  as  the  one  power 
that  can  assume  the  leadership  in  a  statesmanlike  attempt  to  find  a 


CHINA'S  EXPECTATIONS  FROM  AMERICA?        65 

solution  which  will  substitute  for  independent  aggressions  and  dangerous 
rivalries  a  cooperation  in  guaranteeing  the  integrity  of  the  Republic,  and 
in  helping  to  develop  its  resources,  physical  and  social,  for  its  sake  and 
for  the  welfare  of  the  world.  In  all  this  is  China  awake  or  only  dream- 
ing ? — George  E.  Vincent,  American  Review  of  Reviews,  November,  1919, 
p.  518. 

Complexities  in  Applying  the  Open-Door  Principle 

Though  at  first  sight  political,  and  fought  by  diplomacy,  the  struggle 
for  foreign  control  in  China  was  not  less  one  of  international  financial  in- 
terests, contending  for  the  exploitation  of  new  opportunities  for  invest- 
ment. Foreign  capital  was  attracted  by  the  great  profits  to  be  gained 
from  the  impending  industrial  revolution  of  China.  In  order  to  eliminate 
financial  competition  of  other  nations  or  to  counteract  political  moves  on 
the  part  of  other  governments  if  such  were  destined  to  be  harmful  to  its 
own  expansion,  foreign  finance  often  solicited,  and  freely  received, 
diplomatic  protection.  With  a  protection  and  promotion  of  foreign  enter- 
prise several  governments  combined  the  furtherance  of  national  ambitions 
of  a  more  or  less  political  character.  All  banks  and  syndicates  in  charge 
of  the  railways  and  loans  became  more  and  more  generally  recognized 
as  indispensable  means  to  the  political  and  commercial  ends  of  their 
respective  governments.  The  struggle  for  foreign  control  in  China  has 
accordingly  been  marked  by  a  most  singular  and  distinguishing  feature, 
namely,  the  closest  possible  cooperation  between  foreign  finance  and 
foreign  policy.     The  period  was  one  of  "conquest  by  railroad  and  bank." 

The  tenacious  determination  on  the  part  of  several  powers  to  control 
their  respective  spheres  to  the  greatest  possible  exclusion  of  their  com- 
petitors tended  to  prejudice  not  only  China's  integrity  but  also  the  full 
and  free  enjoyment  of  the  treaty  rights  of  others.  Though  protesting 
vehemently  and  professing  adherence  to  the  "open-door"  doctrine,  nations 
nevertheless  viewed  with  jealousy  the  preserves  seized  by  others.  They 
were  driven  to  bitter  diplomatic  strife  over  each  new  prospective  "sphere." 
In  short,  the  tremendous  pressure  of  modern  imperialism  coupled  with 
modern  capitalistic  enterprise  was,  in  China  as  elsewhere  on  earth,  a 
constant  menace  to  peace.  .  .  .  For  China  will  unquestionably  become 
once  more  one  of  the  principal  centers  of  world  politics,  in  which  Great 
Britain,  Russia,  France,  Germany,  Japan,  and  the  United  States  are 
concerned. — T.  W.  Overlach,  "Foreign  Financial  Control  in  China," 
pp.  i-iii. 

Foreign  Control  o£  Railroad  Development  in  China 

The  extent  of  foreign  conquest  in  China  with  railway  development 
as  a  weapon  needs  special  attention.  .  .  .  About  14,000  miles  of  railway 
are  to  be  constructed  in  China  by  foreign  capital,  and  wherever  the  rail- 


66  AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

way  extends  there  will  follow  the  governments  of  foreign  powers,  creat- 
ing spheres  of  influence.  It  certainly  looks  sinister  and  monstrous  that 
this  network  of  railways,  instead  of  consolidating  the  industrial  and  com- 
mercial life  of  China,  merely  proceeds  to  or  from  the  centers  of  the 
"spheres  of  influence"  through  the  very  heart  of  China,  for  the  military 
and  political  consolidation  of  the  nations  concerned. — Setsuo  Uenoda, 
Asia,  December,  1919,  p.  1215. 

Substance  of  the  Lansing-Ishii  Agreement  of  November  2,  1917 

The  Governments  of  the  United  States  and  Japan  recognize  that 
territorial  propinquity  creates  special  relations  between  countries,  and, 
consequently,  the  Government  of  the  United  States  recognizes  that  Japan 
has  special  interests  in  China,  particularly  in  the  part  to  which  her 
possessions  are  contiguous. 

The  territorial  sovereignty  of  China,  nevertheless,  remains  unim- 
paired, and  the  Government  of  the  United  States  has  every  confidence  in 
the  repeated  assurance  of  the  Imperial  Japanese  Government  that,  while 
geographical  position  gives  Japan  such  special  interests,  they  have  no 
desire  to  discriminate  against  the  trade  of  other  nations  or  to  disregard 
the  commercial  rights  heretofore  granted  by  China  in  treaties  with  other 
powers. 

The  Governments  of  the  United  States  and  Japan  deny  that  they 
have  any  purpose  to  infringe  in  any  way  the  independence  or  territorial 
integrity  of  China,  and  they  declare,  furthermore,  that  they  always  adhere 
to  the  principle  of  the  so-called  "open  door,"  or  equal  opportunity  for 
commerce  and  industry  in  China. 

Moreover,  they  mutually  declare  that  they  are  opposed  to  the  acquisi- 
tion by  any  government  of  any  special  rights  or  privileges  that  would 
aflfect  the  independence  or  territorial  integrity  of  China,  or  that  would 
deny  to  the  subjects  or  citizens  of  any  country  the  full  enjoyment  of  equal 
opportunity  in  the  commerce  and  industry  of  China. — Henry  Chung,  "The 
Oriental  Policy  of  the  United  States,"  pp.  290,  291. 

"Territorial  Propinquity"  Pushed  to  Its  Logical  Conclusion 

The  essential  point  that  makes  this  declaration  [the  Lansing-Ishii 
Note]  different  from  the  notes  exchanged  between  America  and  Japan  in 
1919  is  that  the  former  now  recognizes  the  special  interests  of  the  latter 
in  China,  especially  in  regions  to  which  the  possessions  of  Japan  are 
contiguous.  It  is  obvious,  however,  that  all  states  whose  territories  are 
adjoining  have  mutual  interests,  such  as  the  control  of  the  cross-frontier 
traffic  and  the  enforcement  of  rules  of  sanitation.  A  mutual  protection 
of  these  interests  by  the  states  concerned  is  a  condition  of  their  normal 
life  and  needs  no  recognition  by  a  third  power  who  is  separated  from 


CHINA'S  EXPECTATIONS  FROM  AMERICA?        (yy 

either  of  them  by  a  vast  ocean.  Moreover,  if  Japan  has  special  interests 
in  China,  China  has  equally  special  interests  in  Japan,  and  a  recognition 
of  these  interests  should  be  extended  to  one  of  these  two  states  as  much 
as  to  the  other.  The  note  under  our  consideration,  however,  takes  no 
notice  of  this  mutual  right:  it  says  nothing  of  the  special  interests  of 
China  in  Japan,  while  it  grants  recognition  to  the  special  interests  of 
Japan  in  China.  The  explanation  of  this  unilateral  arrangement  is  found 
in  the  fact  that  neither  America  nor  Japan  meant  by  "special  interests 
created  by  territorial  propinquity"  those  interests  that  I  have  just  men- 
tioned— interests  arising  from  adjacent  or  conterminous  boundaries — but 
those  acquired  by  Japan,  not  because  of  the  accidents  of  territorial  con- 
tiguity, but  because  of  her  deliberate  and  aggressive  policy  of  encroaching 
upon  the  territorial  rights  of  China.  Such  are  her  interests  in  Man- 
churia, in  Mongolia,  in  Shantung,  and  in  Fukien.  On  the  surface  of  it, 
the  recognition  of  these  interests  by  the  United  States  is  unfortunate 
because  most  of  them  are  only  granted  by  China  under  duress,  and  it  is 
hoped  that  they  will  be  taken  away  from  the  hands  of  Japan  as  soon  as 
the  Western  powers  have  time  to  redress  the  injustice  inflicted  on  China 
by  her  neighbor,  who  has  taken  advantage  of  their  preoccupation  in  the 
war. 

The  term  "special  interests"  is  exceedingly  vague,  and  it  is  not  clear 
whether  it  is  confined  to  those  already  obtained  by  Japan  or  can  be 
extended  to  those  that  may  be  acquired  by  her  in  the  future.  Should  it 
happen  that  Japan,  in  pursuance  of  her  policy  of  expansion,  exacts  from 
China  further  territorial  and  economic  acquisitions  in  regions  contiguous 
to  her  leased  territory  or  where  her  economic  interests  are  already 
strong,  would  the  Government  of  the  United  States  be  obliged  to  recog- 
nize her  claims  and  support  her  demands  ?  Such  a  recognition  or  support 
would  not  only  reverse  the  friendly  attitude  which  has  characterized  its 
diplomacy  towards  China,  but  would  also  be  inconsistent  with  the  noble 
ideals  of  right  and  justice  so  loudly  pronounced  by  President  Wilson. 
Moreover,  there  is  almost  no  limit  to  the  rights  and  interests  Japan 
might  claim  under  the  phrase  "territorial  propinquity."  The  different 
islands  that  constitute  the  Japanese  Empire  stretch  for  a  distance  of 
twenty-eight  degrees  of  latitude  and  are  situated  in  a  curved  line  parallel 
to  the  coast  of  China.  Should  she  enforce  her  claims  to  the  full  extent, 
Japan  might  assert  that  the  United  States  should  recognize  her  special 
interests  in  all  the  coastal  provinces  of  China — from  Manchuria  to 
Canton.  In  time,  she  would  be  able  to  control  the  greater  part  of  China, 
as  it  has  been  her  intention  to  do.  Such  a  condition  would  be  destructive 
of  the  principle  of  the  "open  door"  and  equal  opportunity  for  the  com- 
merce of  all  nations.  The  only  thing  that  has  hitherto  reconciled  that 
principle  with  the  possession  of  spheres  of  influence  by  different  powers 
is  that,  in  all  these  spheres  and  in  leased  territories,  the  same  tariff  rates 
should  be  enforced  as  in  any  other  part  of  China,  and  the  most  favorable 


68  AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

treatment  should  be  a-ccorded  to  the  subjects  of  all  states.  The  experi- 
ence in  South  Manchuria  has,  however,  shown  that,  irrespective  of  what 
the  treaties  and  laws  may  provide,  Japan  will  always  grant  greater 
facilities  to  her  own  merchants  in  the  spheres  under  her  control  than  to 
those  of  other  nationalities.  This  should  have  been  taken  into  account 
by  the  United  States  Government  when  it  exchanged  the  new  note  with 
Japan.— Sih-Gung  Cheng,  "Modern  China,"  pp.  295-297. 

The  Weakness  of  China  Will  Trouble  the  World 

Is  anything  gained  for  the  world's  permanent  peace  by  the  prospect 
of  a  conquered  or  disintegrated  China?  Only  the  blindness  which  does 
not  see  beyond  the  immediate  present  can  feel  anything  but  sorrow  if 
China  is  on  the  road  to  chaos.  For  the  trouble  being  prepared  by  the 
weakness  of  China  will  trouble  the  world.  It  will  haunt  its  peace.  And 
no  clairvoyance  is  needed  to  prophesy  that  if  China  is  unable  to  stand 
on  its  feet  and  assume  control  of  its  own  affairs,  innocent  people  the  world 
over  will  pay  taxes  for  armaments,  and  those  who  are  boys  today  will 
perish  on  distant  battlefields.  This  is  no  scaremongering.  The  Chinese 
are  almost  a  quarter  of  the  human  race.  Let  them  sink  into  helpless 
disorder,  thwart  them,  oppress  them,  and  they  will  become  to  the  world 
what  Turkey  and  the  Balkan  states  have  been  to  Europe — a  running  sore 
which  infects  everyone. 

How  irrelevant  to  such  a  problem  is  the  doctrine  preached  by  the 
ordinary  pacifist — as  if  not  fighting  were  a  policy  which  touched  even  the 
fringes  of  this  problem,  so  gigantic  that  it  darkens  the  thought  of  anyone 
who  looks  into  the  future.  For  of  all  the  stakes  ever  offered  to  diplomacy 
China  is  the  richest  and  largest.  If  comparatively  insignificant  territories 
like  Morocco  and  Bosnia  can  bring  the  world  to  the  edge  of  war,  what 
lusts  of  imperialism  will  a  helpless  China  arouse? — Walter  Lippmann, 
"The  Stakes  of  Diplomacy,"  pp.  224-226. 

American  Obligation  to  China 

Between  ourselves  and  China  there  exist  mutual  confidence  and 
reciprocal  good  will.  This  is  a  practical  as  well  as  a  moral  asset.  But, 
in  addition  to  and  beyond  this,  there  is  needed  something  more.  We  have 
pleaded  for  the  respecting  of  China's  integrity.  We  do  not  believe  in 
the  policy  of  partitioning  or  absorbing  China.  We  profess  to  believe  in 
China's  powers  of  regeneration.  We  deprecate  international  aggressions. 
But  what  do  we  do  when  evidences  of  policies  which  run  counter  to 
these  principles  are  laid  before  us  ? 

Any  upsetting  of  the  political  status  quo  in  the  Far  East  becomes 
a  menace  to  our  interests,  along  with  those  of  other  nations.  China  is 
pledged  to  the  equal  treatment  of  all  nations,  the  nations  are  pledged  not 


CHINA'S  EXPECTATIONS  FROM  AMERICA?        69 

to  establish  inequalities  against  each  other  in  China's  markets,  and  all 
nations  have  the  right  to  equal  opportunities.  It  was  special  concessions 
demanded  and  received  from  China  by  particular  nations  that  led  to  the 
scramble  for  concessions  which  marked  the  years  1895-1898,  which  led  in 
turn,  indirectly,  to  the  Boxer  uprising.  The  Chinese  people  are  now 
developing  a  national  patriotism;  they  are  beginning  to  know  something 
of  international  affairs ;  they  have  become  alarmed  at  the  menace  of  sub- 
jugation which  threatens  them.  This  means  that  they  will  not  be  ready 
to  endure  patiently  any  considerable  invasion  as  a  result  of  concessions 
which  have  recently  been  required  of  them.  To  prevent  the  establishing 
of  inequalities,  to  insure  against  the  partition  of  China,  to  save  China 
herself  from  internal  disturbances,  and  to  guard  against  some  new  form 
of  anti-foreign  agitation  which  may  affect  all  foreign  nations  alike 
injuriously,  should  not  every  nation  which  is  in  a  position  to  do  so  exert 
itself  to  restrain  any  other  whose  policies  appear  likely  to  induce  some  or 
all  of  these  undesirable  consequences  ? 

The  Chinese  look  to  the  United  States  to  exercise  a  positive  and 
helpful  influence  in  the  solution  of  their  problems  of  reconstruction.  The 
American  Government  in  its  official  advocacy  of  the  open-door  policy 
assumed  a  position  of  responsibility — responsibility  towards  the  interests 
of  every  power  and  every  people  concerned.  This  responsibility  makes 
imperative  something  more  than  mere  reiterated  protestations  of  friendly 
interest.  It  calls  for  most  careful  consideration,  and  substantial,  con- 
structive political  and  economic  effort. 

Finally,  and  quite  independently  of  immediate  expectations  or  obliga- 
tions, it  must  be  recognized  that  the  United  States  is  a  world  power, 
destined  increasingly  to  participate  in  world  commerce  and  world  politics. 
The  fate  of  peoples,  the  disposition  of  territories,  and  the  determination 
of  commercial  policies  in  the  Far  East  are  bound  to  be  of  enormous  conse- 
quence in  world  affairs.  What  occurs  in  the  Pacific  will  have  its  effects 
upon  the  activities  and  policies  of  the  major  nations  everywhere.  The 
people  of  the  United  States  already  have  large  social  and  considerable 
commercial  interests  in  the  Pacific.  They  are  entitled  to  increase,  and 
in  the  natural  course  of  events  undoubtedly  will  increase,  their  activities 
in  these  lines.  We  should  endeavor  in  the  present  to  safeguard  the 
opportunities  of  the  future.  We  should  ask  for  nothing  but  what  is  just, 
giving  due  consideration  to  the  rights  and  needs  of  all,  demanding  no 
special  privileges  for  ourselves;  but  we  should,  on  behalf  of  our  own 
interests  and  of  the  cause  of  peace,  frame  our  policies  and  practices 
with  a  view  to  the  defense  of  the  principles  upon  which  we,  along  with 
the  other  powers,  have  agreed. 

The  international  problems  of  the  Far  East  are  world  problems.  As 
such,  they  merit  and  demand  the  attention  of  every  nation  which  has  a 
world  outlook  and  world  interests. — Stanley  K.  Hornbeck,  "Contemporary 
Politics  in  the  Far  East,"  pp.  401-403. 


70  AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

A  Mandate  to  Christian  Institutions 

The  movements  in  China  are  like  the  currents  in  a  wide,  deep  sea. 
The  instruments  to  measure  them  have  not  yet  been  made — it  may  be 
doubted  whether  they  have  yet  been  invented.  Here  is  antiquity  in  the 
mass.  Here  is  pride  of  intellect — a  pride  slowly  crystallizing  through  the 
centuries,  but  now  rudely  shocked  by  revelations  of  the  nation's  sluggish 
response  to  aggression,  and  its  incompetence  in  clearing  the  highways  of 
its  own  destiny.  Its  keener  self-respect  is  wounded  by  the  realization  of 
the  corruption  of  its  leaders.  Suddenly  from  its  slow  indifference  comes 
the  students'  strike.  It  is  like  the  flash  of  a  blade  so  long  resting  in  its 
scabbard  that  men  had  guessed  that  there  was  scabbard  and  no  blade. 
The  new  protest  against  corruption  issues  from  the  schools — many  of 
them  the  mission  schools  and  the  national  schools — for  which  the  Chris- 
tian institutions  have  set  the  type.  Over  large  sections  of  China  reaches 
the  curse  of  banditry.  The  exactions  of  fear  exhaust  the  resources  of  the 
people  and  paralyze  industry.  It  impresses  one  as  sheer  lawlessness. 
There  is  in  it  also  protest.  At  times  it  is  not  far  from  patriotism — 
misguided  but  genuine.  In  Foochow  the  stage  is  set  for  another  Shan- 
tung. We  may  not  venture  to  adjudge  the  guilt  in  the  clash  of  interests 
and  arms,  but  the  challenge  of  China,  to  the  neighbor  nation  whom  she 
fears,  to  show  cause  rings  with  a  note  with  which  Celt  and  Anglo-Saxon 
are  not  unfamiliar.  The  year  which  has  brought  this  huge,  old  nation 
into  the  very  center  of  the  world's  thought  and  diplomacy  has  confirmed 
the  long  cherished  conviction  of  leaders  .  .  .  that  to  the  Christian  school, 
with  the  Christian  Church,  has  been  given  the  mandate  for  China's  rescue 
and  reconstruction. — Extract  from  Report  of  Dr.  Frank  Mason  North 
to  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  New  York,  December  5,  1919. 

What  Missionaries  Have  Done  for  China 

In  the  first  place,  China  owes  a  great  deal  to  the  foreign  missionaries 
for  the  introduction  of  modern  education.  Not  only  through  their  trans- 
lation of  books  of  modern  science,  but  also  through  their  personal  efforts 
in  teaching  modern  science  and  arts  and  in  establishing  modern  schools 
and  colleges,  missionaries,  particularly  those  from  this  country,  have 
awakened  an  interest  on  the  part  of  the  Chinese  masses  in  the  importance 
and  value  of  modern  education.  The  present  widespread  educational 
movement  in  China  is  traceable  in  its  origin  to  a  very  large  extent  to 
the  humble  efforts  begun  half  a  century  ago  by  pioneer  missionaries  of 
the  Christian  Church  in  China.  The  efficiency  of  missionary  institutions 
in  training  men  of  discipline  and  character  is  a  fact  generally  admitted. 
Indeed,  many  of  the  missionary  schools  and  colleges  are  recognized  as 
among  the  best  of  our  educational  institutions. 

In  the  second  place,  the  missionary,  as  a  doctor,  has  rendered  no  less 


CHINA'S  EXPECTATIONS  FROM  AMERICA?    •    71 

service  to  China  than  as  an  educator.  The  missionary  hospitals  and  dis- 
pensaries, numbering,  I  am  informed,  nearly  four  hundred,  are  not  only 
places  of  comfort  to  the  sick  and  suffering,  but  also  serve  as  centers  from 
which  the  light  of  modern  medical  science  radiates  to  the  length  and 
breadth  of  China. 

Then  the  missionary  as  a  moral  and  religious  teacher  and  as  a  social 
reformer  has  been  a  distinct  force  in  China.  Perhaps  no  one  can  tell  how 
many  miserable  lives  have  been  made  happy  and  how  many  living  in 
darkness  have  been  brought  to  see  the  light  by  missionary  teaching. 
Many  of  the  epoch-making  reforms,  such  as  the  suppression  of  opium 
and  the  abolition  of  foot-binding,  have  been  brought  about  with  no  little 
support  from  the  workers  of  the  Christian  Church  in  China. 

I  hold  missionary  work  in  high  regard,  as  do  many  of  my  fellow- 
countrymen.  The  Christian  Church  has  not  only  rendered  valuable 
service  in  propagating  Christian  doctrines,  but  has  by  her  various  activ- 
ities contributed  to  the  modernization  of  China,  and  under  the  new  regime 
of  republicanism  Christianity  is  bound  to  make  even  more  rapid  progress 
and  accomplish  much  more  in  China  than  she  has  in  the  past. — Dr.  V.  K. 
Wellington  Koo,  Chinese  Minister  to  the  United  States,  in  Missionary 
Review  of  the  World,  October,  19 16,  p.  763. 

Agreement  as  to  the  Meaning  o£  Life 

It  is  not  chiefly  an  economic  problem  that  distresses  men.  There  is 
such  a  shrinking  of  the  world,  it  is  true,  that  wages  in  Glasgow  or  Liver- 
pool may  come  to  depend  upon  the  economic  conditions  that  hold  in  the 
Pacific.  But  this  plain  and  admitted  fact,  terrible  as  it  is  in  its  possi- 
bilities, is  not  to  be  considered  by  itself.  Nor  is  the  race  problem 
political  only,  unless  a  deeper  meaning  is  given  to  politics  than  it  com- 
monly bears.  It  is  in  reality  a  spiritual  problem;  it  is  concerned  with 
ideals  and  values.  Nations  must  live  together,  but  how  can  they  live  in 
the  same  house  in  peace  unless  they  are  agreed  upon  the  meaning  of 
human  life,  and  upon  its  true  values  and  its  destiny?  If  the  nations  must 
differ  here,  it  would  be  of  little  value  that  they  spoke  the  same  tongue,  or 
were  linked  by  wireless  telegraphy;  there  could  be  no  fellowship  of  an 
enduring  kind.  The  quest  of  the  moment  must  be  for  a  reconciliation 
of  all  nations  upon  a  certain  interpretation  of  human  life  whiqh  will  give 
common  values  and  yet  not  rob  the  nations  of  their  distinctive  glories  and 
commissions. — E.  Shillito,  International  Review  of  Missions,  January, 
1919,  p.  22. 


CHAPTER  VII 

IS  JAPAN'S  SOVEREIGNTY  IN  KOREA  A  BENEFIT 
OR  A  MENAGE  TO  THE  ORIENT? 

I.  What  significance  has  the  status  of  Korea  for  the  future  of 

the  Far  East? 

1.  Look  at  the  map  and  see  what  gives  the  control  of  Korea  so 
much  importance  in  reference  to  the  domination  of  the  Far 
East. 

2.  What  nations  have  sought  to  control  the  Korean  peninsula 
during  the  last  forty  years?  What  special  consideration  led 
each  to  desire  this  control  ? 

II.  Has  Japanese  control  of  Korea  been  beneficial  or  harmful 

to  the  Koreans? 

1.  How  did  Japan's  occupation  of  Korea  come  about? 

a.  As  a  result  of  a  national  zeal  for  territorial  aggrandizement  ? 

b.  As  a  field  for  Japanese  colonization? 

c.  Out  of  a  demand  for  national  self -protection  against 
Russia  ? 

d.  As  a  counter-move  against  the  scramble  for  "spheres  of 
influence"  of  various  European  powers  which  were  working 
towards  the  dismemberment  of  China  ? 

2.  Does  Japan  seem  to  you  to  be  administering  Korea  for  the 
sake  of  the  Koreans  or  for  that  of  the  Japanese  ? 

3.  If  Japan  wishes  to  maintain  control  in  Korea,  which  policy  do 
you  feel  is  the  better  for  the  Japanese  Government  to  pursue : 

a.  One  of  friendly  sympathy  for  Korean  sentiment,  granting, 
for  instance,  every  possible  concession  in  the  use  of  the 
Korean  language  in  schools  and  assemblies,  in  books  and  peri- 
odicals, and  making  no  rigid  requirements  as  to  the  use  of 
the  "national  language"  ? 

b.  Her  accepted  method  of  pressing  the  use  of  the  Japanese 
language  in  every  possible  way  as  an  appropriate  means  to 
rapid  assimilation? 

According  to  the  experience  of  the  United  States,  what  relation 

72 


JAPAN  A   MENACE   IN   KOREA?  73 

is  there  between  the  maintenance  of  their  national  customs 
and  the  use  of  their  mother  tongue  by  immigrants  and  their 
rapid  Americanization?  What  has  been  the  American  ex- 
perience in  the  PhiHppines  ? 

4.  In  what  ways  do  you  feel  Japanese  control  will  be  a  benefit,  in 
what  ways  a  detriment,  to  Korea  and  the  Koreans  ? 

III.    What  effect  has  Japan's  sovereignty  in  Korea  upon  the 
welfare  of  the  Far  East? 

1.  In  what  ways  do  you  feel  Japanese  control  of  Korea  will  be  a 
menace  to  the  peace  of  the  Far  East  ?  In  what  ways  a  real  aid 
to  a  peaceful  solution  of  the  Far  Eastern  problem  ? 

2.  Which  would  be  best  for  the  future  peace  and  welfare  of  the 
Far  East,  that  Korea  should  be  independent,  that  she  should 
belong  to  Japan  as  a  dependency,  or  that  she  should  enjoy  some 
large  measure  of  self-government  with  full  and  responsible  rep- 
resentation in  the  imperial  parliament?  Why  do  you  hold  this 
position  ? 

REFERENCE  MATERIAL 

The  Strategic  Position  of  Korea 

The  peninsula  of  Korea  juts  out  from  the  mainland  of  Asia  toward 
Japan  between  the  Japan  Sea  and  the  Yellow  Sea.  The  Japan  Sea  is  as 
important  to  Japan  as  is  the  North  Sea  to  Great  Britain.  The  Yellow  Sea 
is  as  important  to  China  as  is  the  stretch  of  the  Atlantic  between  Boston 
and  Newport  News  to  the  United  States.  Korea  has  been  called  a  dagger 
pointed  at  the  heart  of  Japan.  This  expression  is  no  exaggeration.  Were 
Korea  in  the  hands  of  any  European  power,  the  menace  to  Japan  would 
be  as  the  menace  to  Great  Britain  of  Belgium  in  the  hands  of  Germany. 
A  European  power  ensconced  in  Korea  could  separate  Japan  from  China 
and  control  the  outlet  of  northern  China  to  the  Pacific.  .  .  .  Korea  lost 
her  independence  through  the  imperialistic  ambitions  of  European  powers 
in  the  Far  East.  She  will  regain  her  independence  only  through  the 
definite  renunciation  of  those  ambitions. — Herbert  Adams  Gibbons,  'The 
New  Map  of  Asia  1900-1919,"  pp.  346,  369. 

From  Recognition  of  Independence  to  Declared  Annexation 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war  with  China  in  1894  Japan  had  made  a 
treaty  of  alliance  with  Korea,  in  which  Article  I  declared:  "The  object 
of  the  alliance  is  to  maintain  the  independence  of  Korea  on  a  firm  foot- 
ing." In  the  treaty  of  Shimonoseki  at  the  end  of  the  war  China  recog- 
nized "definitely  the  full  and  complete  independence  and  autonomy  of 
Korea." 


74  AMERICA'S  STAKE  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

In  1898  Japan  and  Russia  had  made  an  agreement  wherein  the 
two  governments  recognized  "definitely  the  sovereignty  and  entire  inde- 
pendence of  Korea"  and  pledged  themselves  "mutually  to  abstain  from 
all  direct  interference  in  the  internal  affairs  of  that  country."  In  the 
Anglo-Japanese  treaty  of  alliance  of  1902,  "the  high  contracting  parties, 
having  mutually  recognized  the  independence  of  China  and  Korea," 
declared  themselves  to  be  "entirely  uninfluenced  by  any  aggressive 
tendencies  in  either  country." 

Three  years  later,  however,  in  renewing  the  alliance,  the  British  and 
Japanese  Governments  omitted  mention  of  their  devotion  to  the  principle 
of  Korea's  integrity,  mentioning  only  that  of  China;  while  Great  Britain 
recognized  the  right  of  Japan  "to  take  such  measures  of  guidance,  control, 
and  protection  in  Korea  as  she  may  deem  proper  and  necessary  to  safe- 
guard [her]  interests,  provided  always  that  such  measures  are  not  con- 
trary to  the  principle  of  equal  opportunities  for  the  commerce  and 
industry  of  all  nations." 

In  the  Portsmouth  Treaty  Russia  likewise  recognized  Japan's  para- 
mount interests  in  Korea  and  right  to  take  such  measures  as  those  re- 
ferred to  in  the  treaty  just  mentioned. 

When  declaring  war  against  Russia  in  1904,  the  Emperor  of  Japan 
had  issued  a  rescript,  in  the  course  of  which  he  declared:  "The  integrity 
of  Korea  is  a  matter  of  gravest  concern  to  this  Empire.  .  .  .  The 
separate  existence  of  Korea  is  essential  to  the  safety  of  our  realm."  .  .  . 

Three  months  after  the  conclusion  of  the  war,  on  November  17,  1905, 
the  Korean  Emperor  was  compelled  to  accept  a  convention  which  begins : 

Preamble:  [The  two  governments],  desiring  to  strengthen  the  prin- 
ciple of  solidarity  which  unites  the  two  Empires,  have  .  .  .  concluded : 

Article  I.  The  Government  of  Japan  .  .  .  will  hereafter  have  con- 
trol and  direction  of  the  external  relations  and  affairs  of  Korea.  .  .  . 

In  1906  Marquis  Ito  was  made  (Japanese)  Resident-General  in 
Korea. 

In  1907  Japan  prevented  the  representatives  of  the  Korean  Emperor 
from  being  given  a  hearing  at  Hague  Conference.  .  .  . 

In  1908  Prince  Ito  declared  publicly  that  it  was  no  part  of  Japan's 
purpose  to  annex  Korea. 

In  1909  Prince  Ito  declared  that  Korea  must  be  "amalgamated"  with 
Japan. 

In  the  next  year  came  the  final  act  in  the  tragedy  of  the  "Hermit 
Kingdom."  The  broken  and  bewildered  Emperor  accepted  the  dictum 
of  superior  force,  applied  by  the  representatives  of  the  country  which  had 
five  years  before  solemnly  guaranteed  the  integrity  of  his  domains  and  the 
security  of  his  throne — and  set  the  sanction  of  legality  upon  Japan's 
annexation  of  his  realm  by  signing  the  following  treaty : 

Article  i.    His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Korea  makes  complete  and 


JAPAN   A   MENACE   IN   KOREA?  75 

permanent  cession  to  His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Japan  of  all  rights  of 
sovereignty  over  the  whole  of  Korea. 

Article  2.  His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Japan  accepts  the  cession 
mentioned  in  the  preceding  article,  and  consents  to  the  complete  annexa- 
tion of  Korea  to  the  Empire  of  Japan. 

This  agreement  was  signed  on  August  22nd.  On  August  29,  1910, 
Japan  formally  declared  Korea  annexed  to  the  dominions  of  His  Majesty 
the  Emperor  of  Japan. 

No  power  intervened,  there  was  no  offer  of  mediation,  there  was 
not  a  word  of  official  protest.  The  inevitable — an  artificially  created 
inevitable — had  happened.  The  Japanese  had  been  working  toward  this 
end  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  They  had  carefully  prepared 
for  the  final  coup,  and  when  at  last  they  took  possession  there  was  not 
a  court  in  the  world  to  which  the  Koreans  could  appeal  for  a  hearing, 
not  an  advocate  to  plead  for  their  cause.  No  matter  how  worthy  the 
objects  of  Japanese  statesmen  may  be;  no  matter  how  much  of  admiration 
their  cleverness,  their  perseverance,  and  their  success  may  command ;  no 
matter  how  marvelous  the  work  which  they  do  in  the  regions  to  which 
they  go — when  viewed  against  the  background  of  centuries  of  non- 
progress  on  the  part  of  the  indigenes ;  it  is  essential  that  the  world — if  it 
is  really  interested  in  the  fate  of  further  portions  of  regions  in  which 
Japan  is  busying  herself,  and  while  it  is  being  offered  Japan's  soothing 
promises  of  self-denial — read  for  itself  the  record  of  Japan's  diplomatic 
promises  as  set  forth  in  the  story  of  this  passing  of  Korea. — Stanley  K. 
Hornbeck,  "Contemporary  Politics  in  the  Far  East,"  pp.  210-212,  213, 
214. 

Japan  .  .  .  with  the  consent,  or  at  any  rate  without  the  active  inter- 
ference, of  the  Triple  Entente,  definitely  annexed  Korea  in  1910 — an 
extremely  important  step  which  attracted  far  less  attention  than  it  ought 
to  have  done  both  in  England  and  in  America.  The  independence  and 
integrity  of  the  Chinese  Empire,  to  which  Japan  had  pledged  herself  to 
the  European  Powers  and  the  United  States,  was  thus  completely  nullified 
and  the  "Open  Door"  was  virtually  closed  in  regard  to  Korea. 

That  kingdom  became  thenceforth  an  integral  part  of  the  growing 
Japanese  Empire,  subject  to  its  domination  in  every  respect,  and  vastly 
increasing  its  power,  in  war  as  in  peace. 

With  the  practical  control  of  the  Liaotung  Peninsula  Japan  thus 
assumed  a  position  on  the  mainland  which  threatened  the  independence 
of  all  northern  China,  unless  the  Chinese  themselves  should  follow  in  the 
wake  of  the  islanders,  throw  aside  their  peaceful  policy,  and  imitate  their 
rival  by  arming  and  training  themselves  efficiently  on  land  and  on  sea 
according  to  the  best  European  models.  The  appropriation  of  Korea 
showed  more  sharply  than  ever  the  real  objects  of  Japanese  statesman- 
ship and  gave  clear  indication  of  the  lines  along  which  it  would  move  to 
attain  them.     Moreover,  the  tyranny  and  cruelty  which  accompanied  the 


76  AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

establishment  of  Japanese  rule  in  Seoul  and  all  over  Korea  proved  con- 
clusively that,  courteous  and  persuasive  as  she  might  be  in  her  intercourse 
with  Western  countries,  Japan  was,  and  would  remain,  thoroughly  Asiatic 
in  her  way  of  dealing  with  any  overt  resistance  to  her  authority  or  even 
moderate  criticism  of  her  policy. — H.  M.  Hyndman,  "The  Awakening  of 
Asia,"  pp.  147,  148. 

Exploitation  versus  Colonization 

The  Japanese  are  exploiting  Korea,  Manchuria,  and  China.  In  the 
first  they  have  a  free  hand,  for  it  is  theirs,  and  the  immigration  of 
Japanese  is  in  every  way  encouraged.  But  the  traveler  landing  in  Fusan, 
a  city  which  has  been  a  Japanese  headquarters  for  many  centuries,  finds 
all  the  humbler  occupations  in  the  hands  of  Koreans.  The  Japanese, 
more  numerous  here  than  elsewhere  in  the  province,  already  form  a 
caste  in  which  the  Japanese  coolie  can  find  no  place.  In  Manchuria  the 
same  is  true  in  a  more  pronounced  degree.  In  China,  the  Japanese  com- 
pete with  many  other  nations  for  the  privilege  of  organizing  its  vast 
human  energies  and  developing  its  illimitable  resources.  The  purpose  of 
the  recent  unprecedented  demands  of  Japan  was  to  secure  a  paramount 
'position  in  China  in  this  important  work. 

But  Japan  is  not  colonizing  China  or  Manchuria  or  even  Korea  to 
any  appreciable  extent.  Her  position  as  exploiter  is  one  of  immense 
significance  to  her,  to  China,  to  the  world  at  large,  and  to  ourselves  ...  a 
position  comparable  to  that  of  Britain  in  India,  and  perhaps  destined  to 
be  as  influential,  but  it  does  not  solve  the  problem  of  Japan's  abundant 
population.  The  Japanese  organizer  and  the  Japanese  capitalist  find  their 
opportunity,  but  the  coolie  must  look  elsewhere. — Harry  H.  Powers, 
"America  among  the  Nations,"  pp.  217,  218. 

What  Japan  Has  Done  for  Korea 

It  must  not  be  supposed  for  a  moment  that  the  Japanese  administra- 
tion in  Korea  has  been  wholly  evil. 

It  will  be  recalled  that  there  had  been  several  decades  of  advice  from 
Japan  to  Korea,  and  of  the  assertion  of  Japan's  paramount  position  in 
the  peninsula.  It  was  not  until  1904,  however,  that  Japan,  on  the  plea 
that  Korea  was  not  able  to  govern  itself,  began  to  take  formal  manage- 
ment of  its  concerns.  By  the  treaty  of  November  17,  1905,  the  control 
of  foreign  affairs  passed  into  the  hands  of  Japan  and  a  Japanese  Resident 
General  became  practically  governor  of  the  country.  Despite  the  bloody 
insurrections  of  the  next  two  or  three  years  the  Japanese  hold  upon 
Korea  was  greatly  extended,  until  in  August  of  1910  the  annexation  was 
proclaimed. 

Now,  during  the  period  of  the  protectorate,  and  the  later  period  of 
full  Japanese  sovereignty,  many  excellent  things  have  been  brought  to 


JAPAN   A   MENACE   IN   KOREA?  yy 

pass  under  the  auspices  of  the  Government.  For  example,  great  areas 
of  waste  land  have  been  reclaimed  and  improved;  though  I  understand 
that  there  is  little  encouragement  to  individual  citizens,  because  the  law 
provides  that  such  reclaimed  lands  shall  revert  to  the  community  after 
a  period  of  eight  years.  Eighty  per  cent  of  the  Korean  population 
consists  of  farmers,  and  agricultural  methods  have  been  greatly  advanced 
and  the  cultivation  of  new  products  developed.  Cotton,  silk  worms  and 
mulberry  trees,  live  stock,  hemp,  tissue,  apples,  pears,  grapes,  peaches 
have  been  introduced.  There  is  in  this  period  a  marked  increase  in  the 
land  under  cultivation  and  in  the  products  of  the  land.  The  country  had 
under  the  old  regime  been  largely  stripped  of  its  trees.  The  protection  of 
forests  and  the  afforestation  of  the  denuded  hills  are  already  changing 
the  landscape.  Millions  of  trees  are  planted  each  year ;  it  is  said  that  not 
less  than  300,000,000  in  all  have  been  added  to  the  country's  store. 

Mining  has  been  so  increased  'that,  whereas  in  1910  the  mineral 
product  was  valued  at  6,000,000  yen,  in  1916  it  had  reached  a  total  of 
14,000,000  yen.  Fisheries  have  been  encouraged,  factories  have  been 
built,  and  the  beginnings  of  national  industry  are  now  perceptible;  sub- 
sidies are  granted  for  weaving,  paper-making,  pottery,  etc.  The  result  is 
an  immense  increase  in  exports,  the  foreign  trade  showing  an  advance 
from  53,000,000  yen  in  1909  to  131,000,000  yen  in  1916. 

Railroad  communication  has,  of  course,  been  extended,  a  fifty  per 
cent  advance  in  mileage  being  shown  from  1910  to  1916,  and  an  increase 
of  over  150  per  cent  in  passenger  traffic. 

Highways  have  been  built  rather  rapidly.  Before  the  annexation 
there  were  of  first,  second,  and  third-class  roads  only  about  500  miles.  In 
March,  19 17,  there  were  more  than  6,100  miles  completed  and  more  than 
8,000  miles  projected,  but  not  yet  finished.  Rivers  have  been  improved. 
Harbors  like  those  of  Fusan,  Chemulpo,  and  Wonsan  have  been  de- 
veloped. Lighthouses  and  buoys  have  been  provided  and  a  thorough 
land  survey  has  given  definiteness  to  questions  of  ownership. 

Streets  have  been  widened  and  paved  in  the  principal  towns.  Hand- 
some public  buildings  have,  in  some  places,  been  erected,  and  steps  have 
been  taken  for  the  preservation  of  historic  buildings  and  relics. 

Much  attention  has  been  given  to  questions  of  sanitation  and  public 
health.  Water  supply  by  public  works  has  been  taken  up  in  twelve  cities. 
Foods,  drinks,  and  drugs  are  inspected.  Public  hospitals  have  been 
founded  in  each  province.  Vaccination  has  been  insisted  upon.  Vigorous 
efforts  have  been  made  for  the  control  of  epidemic  diseases,  smallpox 
having  almost  disappeared.  And  provision  has  been  begun  for  the  care 
of  the  deaf,  blind,  insane,  leprous,  and  orphans.  Fire  brigades  give  pro- 
tection in  the  larger  places. 

Weights  and  measures  have  been  standardized.  System  has  been 
brought  into  the  financial  administration  and  the  matter  of  taxation.  It 
is  claimed  by  some,  to  be  sure,  that  taxes  are  four  times  as  heavy  as 


78  AMERICA'S   STAKE   IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

before  the  annexation,  but  the  official  reports  show  that  the  government 
civil  expenses,  which  were  9,500,000  yen  in  1905,  had  also  increased  to 
52,000,000  yen  by  1912,  and  to  63,000,000  yen  by  1917.  Of  the  total  ex- 
penditures in  the  country  for  civil  and  military  purposes,  Japan  con- 
tributed 27,000,000  yen  in  1907  from  the  imperial  treasury.  That  annual 
amount  has  been  gradually  reduced  and  this  year  the  civil  contribution 
from  the  Japanese  empire  has  come  to  an  end,  though  I  believe  the 
expenses  for  the  maintenance  of  the  military  forces  are  still  a  charge  on 
the  imperial  treasury. 

Honesty  has  marked  the  general  administration.  Encouragement 
has  been  given  to  thrift  and  savings.  The  laws  have  been  codified;  the 
penal  code  has  been  revised.  A  larger  measure  of  peace  and  order  had 
unquestionably  prevailed  previous  to  this  revolution.  Importantly  the 
educational  system  has  been  vastly  extended.  From  1910  to  1917  common 
schools  for  Koreans  were  nearly  trebled  and  the  number  of  pupils  nearly 
quadrupled.  Under  the  old  regime  little  had  been  done  by  the  Govern- 
ment for  public  education.  At  the  present  time  schools  for  Koreans  dot 
the  entire  land,  although  it  should  be  added  that,  according  to  the  best 
estimates,  only  one  tenth  of  the  Korean  children  of  school  age  are  as 
yet  provided  with  school  accommodations.  In  addition  to  the  primary 
schools,  elementary  agricultural  and  technical  schools  have  been  estab- 
lished, with  a  few  higher  schools,  including  colleges  of  medicine,  tech- 
nology, and  law. 

It  is  true  that  the  Koreans  feel  that  these  improvements  in  the 
country  are  dictated  by  no  unselfish  motive  on  the  part  of  the  Japanese ; 
that  they  are  seeking  to  make  the  peninsula  better  for  their  own  occupa- 
tion and  benefit,  rather  than  for  the  advantage  of  the  Koreans  themselves. 
One  Korean  statement  puts  it:  "Their  protection,  their  love  and  their 
care  are  no  more  than  we  give  to  our  cattle;  we  are  for  them  in  order 
to  butcher  them."  But  I  cannot  help  feeling  that,  whether  or  not  the 
motives  be  purely  altruistic,  the  sense  of  orderliness,  the  knowledge  of 
modern  life,  the  initiative  and  energy  which  have  enabled  the  Japanese 
Government  to  bring  about  the  present  conditions  are  highly  creditable  to 
them,  and  that  in  these  respects  the  Japanese  Government  has  done  an 
admirable  piece  of  work,  of  which  its  officials  have  a  right  to  be  honestly 
proud.  I  regard  this  list  of  achievements  during  the  last  fifteen  years  as 
nothing  less  than  impressive. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  one  sees  the  encouragement  of  the  liquor 
traffic,  when  one  sees  systematized  and  legalized  vice  brought  from 
Japan  into  Korea,  when  one  remembers  that  tobacco  is  a  government 
monopoly  and  therefore  the  trade  one  to  be  encouraged  for  public 
revenue,  and  when  one  hears  that  the  growth  of  the  poppy,  although 
professedly  for  experimental  or  medicinal  purposes,  is  being  officially 
promoted  in  Korea,  he  cannot  but  recognize  some  of  the  moral  stains 
upon  this  creditable  record. 


JAPAN   A   MENACE   IN   KOREA?  79 

More  than  that,  it  is  perfectly  clear  that  the  Japanese  administration 
has  failed  in  its  colonial  policy  in  two  or  three  matters  so  fundamental 
and  so  far-reaching  in  their  effects  as  to  be  almost  fatal. — Bishop  Herbert 
Welch,  Christian  Advocate,  August  7,  1919. 

Underlying  Causes  o£  the  Korean  Agitation  of  1919 

All  of  the  reasons  given  have  appeared  in  some  form  or  other  in 
declarations,  petitions,  and  bulletins  issued  by  the  Koreans,  and  so  may 
be  taken  as  an  expression  of  Korean  opinion.  The  statement  contains 
only  what  seem  to  some  friends  of  Japan  and  Korea  to  be  the  most 
important  of  the  causes  involved.  It  should  be  said  also  that  it  does  not 
embody  the  immediate  causes  of  this  outbreak  such  as  the  rumors  in 
connection  with  the  work  of  the  Peace  Conference,  prevalent  ideas  of 
"self-determination,"  the  activities  of  Koreans  abroad,  and  the  death  of 
the  ex-Emperor  of  Korea. 

The  desire  for  independence.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  assim- 
ilation of  an  alien  race  is  a  difficult  task  at  best,  and  that  in  this  case 
it  is  made  more  difficult  by  the  fact  that  the  Koreans  as  a  people  have 
never  in  their  hearts  been  reconciled  to  annexation. 

The  rigor  of  the  military  administration.  Koreans  do  not  know  what 
it  would  be  like  to  be  under  a  civil  administration.  Their  whole  idea  of 
the  Imperial  Government  is  drawn  from  their  experiences  of  military 
rule. 

1.  The  fact  that  the  police  have  gendarmes  and  soldiers  associated 
with  them  in  the  administration  of  the  law  leads  the  Korean  to  fear  the 
police  and  to  regard  them  not  as  civil  servants  and  protectors  but  as 
oppressors. 

2.  This  impression  is  deepened  by  the  harsh  and  indiscriminate 
manner  in  which  laws  are  administered.  In  the  report  issued  by  the 
Government  General  in  July,  1918  (covering  the  year  1916-1917)  it  is 
stated  that  out  of  82,121  offenders  dealt  with  in  "Police  Summary  Judg- 
ment," 952  were  pardoned,  81,139  were  sentenced,  and  only  30  were  able 
to  prove  their  innocence.  The  unavoidable  result  of  such  a  system  is  that 
a  naturally  peaceful  and  gentle-minded  people  are  living  in  a  state  of 
constant  terror. 

3.  The  spy  system  has  added  to  the  terrorization  of  the  people. 
Spies,  usually  low-class  Koreans,  are  everywhere.  No  one  knows  when 
nor  in  what  form  the  most  harmless  acts  or  words  may  be  reported  to  the 
authorities. 

4.  The  treatment  of  those  arrested  adds  to  the  fear  and  hatred  of 
the  police. 

5.  The  show  of  force  on  all  occasions  adds  to  the  irritation.  Civil 
officials,  even  primary  school  teachers,  wear  swords. 

6.  This  system  has  brought  the  people  to  believe  that  the  administra- 
tion has  no  idea  of  leading  them,  but  only  of  compelling  obedience. 


8o  AMERICA'S   STAKE   IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

Denationalisation. 

I.  The  Koreans  are  a  different  race,  with  different  history,  traditions, 
ideals,  ethics,  and  customs.  The  present  administration  seems  to  aim 
at  the  elimination  of  many  things  traditionally  Korean  and  the  substitu- 
tion of  things  new  and  strange.  There  seems  to  be  no  systematic  attempt 
to  win  the  Korean's  loyalty  for  Japan  but  to  make  over  the  Korean  into 
a  Japanese. 

2.  The  exclusion  of  the  Korean  language  from  schools,  courts,  and 
legal  documents  is  a  great  source  of  irritation.  It  is  recognized  that 
the  question  of  language  presents  a  problem  to  the  Government,  but  the 
effect  of  the  present  policy  on  the  mind  of  the  Korean  cannot  be 
minimized. 

3.  The  elimination  of  Korean  history  from  school  curricula  is  an- 
other source  of  irritation.  The  Koreans  feel  that  the  presentation  of 
the  subject  of  Korean  history  is  neither  as  full  nor  as  accurate  as  its 
importance  would  warrant. 

The  Koreans  have  no  real  share  in  their  government,  either  legis- 
lative or  executive,  and  no  hope  of  securing  this  has  been  held  out  to 
them. 

I.  Some  Koreans  do  hold  office,  but  usually  minor  ones,  and  in  the 
case  of  those  holding  an  important  office  they  can  usually  be  overruled  by 
Japanese  officials  of  lower  rank. 

The  inferior  education  given  to  Korean  students  deprives  them  of  the 
hope  of  securing  positions  by  competitive  merit  in  the  future. 

Discrimination  against  Koreans. 

1.  There  is  discrimination  in  salaries  for  the  same  services  in 
government  institutions,  in  business  houses,  and  in  labor. 

2.  In  government  schools  the  curriculum  is  different  for  Japanese 
and  Koreans.  The  latter  have  from  two  to  three  years'  shorter  course 
than  the  former.  In  the  matter  of  English,  also,  which  all  desire  to 
learn,  the  Japanese  have  four  days  a  week  for  five  years  while  the 
Koreans  have  only  two  hours  a  week  for  two  years.  Such  differences 
in  educational  facilities  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  Government's  in- 
ability to  provide  full  courses  as  yet,  but  it  works  an  evident  hardship 
and  is  resented  by  the  Koreans. 

3.  Corporal  punishment  can  be  legally  administered  only  to  Koreans. 

4.  There  is  discrimination  in  many  apparently  minor  but  really 
significant  matters.  For  instance,  Koreans  are  rarely  employed  as  train 
boys  or  akabos,  and  Japanese  ricksha  men  are  given  the  best  positions 
at  railway  stations. 

No  liberty  of  speech,  press,  or  assembly.  (Christian  Koreans  were 
arrested  who  were  heard  praying  for  a  spiritual  revival,  the  authorities 
insisting  that  this  meant  a  political  revival.) 


JAPAN   A   MENACE   IN   KOREA?  8i 

Limited  religious  liberty. 

1.  Religion  cannot  be  taught  in  private  schools  according  to  the 
Government  Revised  Educational  Ordinances,  which  recognize  no  differ- 
ence between  government  and  private  schools. 

2.  In  the  case  of  Christianity,  the  Bible  cannot  be  taught  in  private 
schools  opened  since  March,  191 5,  or  in  any  schools  after  1925. 

3.  Ceremonies  are  required  which  seem  to  be  a  violation  of  con- 
science to  Koreans. 

4.  Local  officials  constantly  intimidate  Christians  and  those  intend- 
ing to  become  Christians,  in  what  appears  to  be  an  effort  to  discourage 
Christianity. 

Practical  Prohibition  of  Korean  Study  and  Travel  Abroad. 

1.  Koreans  know  that  Japan's  progress  is  largely  traceable  to 
foreign  studies  at  the  beginning  of  the  Meiji  Era  and  since,  and  desire 
the  same  opportunity  for  improvement.  With  the  exception  of  certain 
specially  favored  cases,  Koreans  are  not  permitted  to  go  abroad,  and  those 
who  have  received  their  education  abroad  are  not  permitted  to  return. 

2.  Even  Koreans  who  have  been  educated  in  Japan  are  so  constantly 
watched  by  the  police  on  their  return  to  Korea  that  they  can  make  no 
proper  use  of  their  education. 

Expropriation  of  Crown  Lands. 

In  many  sections  of  Korea  crown  lands  have  been  occupied  and 
farmed  by  the  Koreans  for  generations  on  the  basis  of  a  moderate  rental. 
In  many  cases  the  leasehold  of  these  lands  had  acquired  a  value  almost 
equal  to  that  of  land  held  in  full  possession.  These  lands,  however,  were 
in  many  cases  turned  over  to  the  Oriental  Development  Company,  and 
the  former  occupants  required  to  pay  greatly  increased  rents,  which  com- 
pelled them  to  abandon  the  land  in  favor  of  government-assisted  Japanese 
settlers. 

Demoralizing  Influences  Newly  Introduced. 

1.  Licensed  prostitution  in  all  cities  and  towns  has  made  this  form 
of  immorality  more  open  and  accessible,  and  hence  has  had  a  more  demor- 
alizing effect  as  well  as  a  more  widespread  influence  upon  the  young  men 
of  the  country. 

2.  The  persistent  sale  of  the  morphine  needle  has  been  unrestricted 
in  many  sections. 

Forced  Migration  to  Manchuria. 

The  extensive  migration  of  Japanese  farmers  into  central  and 
southern  Korea  and  their  occupation  of  often  unjustly  secured  lands  has 
forced  the  migration  of  thousands  of  Koreans  into  the  less  desirable  and 
undeveloped  sections  of  Manchuria. 


S2  AMERICA'S   STAKE   IN   THE   FAR   EAST 

Many  Improvements  Benefit  Japanese  More  than  Koreans. 

1.  Industrial.  The  lumber  industry,  for  example,  although  exten- 
sively developed,  brings  no  additional  benefit  to  the  Koreans.  In  fact, 
lumber  costs  more  than  formerly. 

2.  Commercial.  The  Korean  merchants  lack  modern  business 
training  and  experience,  which  makes  it  difficult  for  them  to  withstand 
the  unrestricted  competition  of  Japanese  merchants. 

3.  In  many  cases  licensed  monopolies  work  great  hardship  to  the 
Koreans  and  cause  resentment,  e.  g.,  the  cotton  monopoly  and  the 
fertilizer  monopoly  in  Sen  Sen. — Commission  on  Relations  with  the 
Orient  of  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America,  "The 
Korean  Situation:  Authentic  Accounts  of  Recent  Events  by  Eye  Wit- 
nesses," pp.  121-125. 

A  Korean  View  of  Japan's  Colonial  Policies 

If  Japan  is  sincere  and  true  in  her  professions  of  doing  justice  to 
the  Korean  people,  she  must  do  one  of  three  things.  She  must  give 
Korea : 

(i)     Complete  independence. 

(2)  Autonomy. 

(3)  A  voice  in  making  and  administering  her  own  laws  and  in 
selecting  the  executive  and  judicial  officials  for  the  country. 

The  first  would  be  the  most  magnanimous  act — a  deed  that  would 
remain  in  the  world's  history  as  a  lasting  tribute  to  the  greatness  of  the 
Japanese  people.  But  if  Japanese  statesmen  are  not  farsighted  enough 
to  see  the  ultimate  gain  of  generosity,  then  they  should  extend  autonomy 
to  Korea.  It  is  the  right  of  the  Koreans  to  administer  their  internal 
affairs,  even  should  this  right  be  exercised  under  the  suzerainty  of  Japan. 
If  this  right  is  recognized,  Japan  would  be  following  the  example  of  the 
most  successful  colonizer  in  the  world — England.  If  the  Japanese 
Government  does  not  care  to  grant  even  this  amount  of  justice,  insisting 
upon  its  policy  of  assimilation — a  policy  which  has  met  with  complete 
failure  so  far,  and  which,  in  my  opinion,  will  never  succeed — it  is  only 
fair  that  the  Korean  people  should  have  a  real  voice  in  their  government. 
It  is  high  time  for  Japanese  statesmen  to  realize  that  "taxation  without 
representation  is  tyranny,"  and  that  the  soldier's  rifle  or  the  gendarme's 
swords  will  never  make  loyal  Japanese  citizens  out  of  Koreans.  .  .  . 

Japan  took  Korea  as  the  prize  of  the  greatest  war  in  her  national 
life  and,  according  to  the  time-honored  European  doctrine  of  economic 
exploitation  and  territorial  aggrandizement  by  the  right  of  military 
conquest,  she  considered  that  she  had  a  perfect  right  to  absorb  Korea. 
But  the  Wilsonian  principle  of  self-determination  declares  that  helpless 
nations  are  not  to  be  considered  as  mere  pawns  in  the  international  game 


JAPAN  A   MENACE   IN   KOREA?  83 

of  strong  powers.  The  tenet  that  "No  people  must  be  forced  under  a 
sovereignty  under  which  it  does  not  wish  to  live"  is  a  distinct  departure 
from  the  old  school  of  political  thought.  It  is  a  new  principle  of  interna- 
tional justice. — Henry  Chung,  Asia,  May,  1919,  p.  467. 

The  Korean  Situation  in  1920 

Two  extreme  views  have  been  set  before  the  American  people :  some 
Japanese  press  agencies  have  been  inclined  to  state  that  the  demands  of 
the  Korean  people  have  been  met,  the  crisis  is  past  and  everything  is 
well;  on  the  other  hand  Korean  propaganda  has  represented  that  there 
has  been  no  improvement  over  the  conditions  of  last  spring  [1919],  and 
that  whatever  seeming  reforms  have  been  accomplished  are  but  camou- 
flage. As  usual,  the  truth  lies  at  neither  extreme.  .  .  .  Some  real 
progress  has  been  made  in  the  right  direction,  but  nothing  like  a  finality 
has  been  arrived  at.  Whether  the  plans  initiated  by  the  Government  will 
be  fundamental  and  far-reaching  enough  really  to  give  Korea  a  satisfac- 
tory administration,  remains  to  be  seen. 

Meanwhile,  on  the  Korean  side  the  past  year  has  unquestionably 
brought  a  further  crystallization  of  opinion  which  is  hostile  to  any  Jap- 
anese government.  The  minds  of  many  are  fixed  on  complete  national 
independence  as  the  only  goal,  and  they  declare  that  they  have  no  interest 
whatever  in  the  question  of  reforms  by  the  present  or  any  Japanese 
administration.  On  the  other  hand  many,  including  some  of  the  most 
intelligent  and  far-seeing,  are  persuaded  that  there  is  no  hope  of  speedy 
independence,  and  that  they  must  settle  down  for  a  long  period  to  build 
up  the  Korean  people,  in  physical  conditions,  in  knowledge,  in  morality, 
and  in  the  ability  to  handle  governmental  concerns.  If  it  is  true  that  in 
the  process  of  time  Korea  will  have  either  national  independence  or  such 
a  large  degree  of  local  autonomy  as  will  make  her  relation  to  Japan 
somewhat  like  that  of  Canada  to  England,  then  certainly  the  strategic 
thing  to  do  at  the  present  time  is  to  prepare  the  people  for  those  larger 
responsibilities  which  are  sure  to  come  to  them  in  the  future. 

It  must  be  fully  recognized  that  the  Japanese  Government  has  by  no 
means  as  yet  won  the  hearts  of  the  Korean  people;  rather  they  are 
farther  ofif  from  that  today  than  fifteen  months  ago.  We  may  have  a 
period  of  years  characterized  by  restlessness  and  uprisings  here  and  there 
which  will  make  it  extremely  difficult  to  do  for  the  people  the  only  things 
which  it  is  possible  and  proper  for  us  as  foreigners  to  do. — Bishop 
Herbert  Welch,  Christian  Advocate,  May  13,  1920,  pp.  649,  650. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

WHAT   ATTITUDE  SHOULD  AMERICA  TAKE   TO- 
WARD KOREA'S  DESIRE  FOR  INDEPENDENCE? 

I.  What  do  you  know  of  the  movements  for  a  republic  in 

Korea?  Why  do  you  sympathize  with  this  movement 
for  freedom  from  foreign  control,  or  why  do  you  fail  to 
sympathize  with  it? 

II.  How  far  are  the  Koreans  justified  in  their  opposition  to 

Japanese  control? 

1.  What  are  the  considerations  which  the  Koreans  set  forth 
which  are  inimical  to  Japanese  control? 

2.  Why  was  Korea  not  able  to  maintain  her  own  sovereignty  as 
have  Holland  and  Switzerland,  on  the  borders  of  more  powerful 
nations  ? 

3*.  When  a  government  seems  hopelessly  corrupt  and  inefficient, 
is  a  neighboring  strong  and  stable  nation  justified  in  stepping  in 
and  assuming  the  reins  of  power?  If  not,  why  not?  If  so,  for 
what  purposes?  Has  the  United  States  done  this  on  any 
occasion  ?     When  and  why  ? 

4.  Is  Japan's  annexation  and  control  of  Korea  justified?  In 
discussing  this,  take  into  consideration  the  following  which 
might  lead  you  to  justify  or  to  question  her  action: 

a.  -  Japan's  previous  declarations  of  purpose  to  respect  Korean 
rights. 

b.  Korea's  weakness  and  corruption. 

c.  The  possibility  and  worth  of  maintaining  Korean  national 
life  and  independence. 

d.  •  Japan's  possible  need  of  self-protection  against  Russia. 

e.  The  contribution  Japan  has  made  to  the  general  welfare  of 
the  Korean  people. 

f.  The  inherent  rights  of  the  weaker  nations,  as  set  forth  by 
President  Wilson. 

g.  The  desirability  for  the  Koreans,  if  annexation  must  come, 
that  their  country  be  annexed  to  Japan  rather  than  to  China 
or  to  Asiatic  Russia. 

h.  The  rigorous  treatment  of  the  Koreans  by  the  Japanese 
military  government  since  annexation. 

84 


KOREA'S  DESIRE  FOR  INDEPENDENCE  85 

5.  How  far  do  you  feel  the  agitation  against  Japan  on  the  part  of 
the  Koreans  is  due  to  prejudice;  how  far  to  real  patriotism  of 
Koreans  growing  out  of  genuine  love  for  their  country? 

III.     What  attitude  should  America  take  toward  Japanese  con- 
trol and  Korean  desire  for  independence? 

1.  If  Korea  were  granted  her  independence,  what  hope  do  you 
feel  there  is  that  she  would  be  able  to  maintain  a  republic? 

2.  What  policy  do  you  really  feel  Japan  should  pursue  in  relation 
to  Korea  ? 

3.  On  what  grounds  would  you  urge  an  idealistic  and  altruistic 
policy  upon  her?  How  far,  if  at  all,  would  you  consider  Chris- 
tian ideals  as  an  essential  to  an  altruistic  policy  by  one  nation 
toward  a  weaker  people? 

4.  Just  how  do  you  feel  America  could  be  of  service  to  Korea 
and  Japan  in  the  solution  of  this  problem? 

5.  In  very  considerable  measure  the  missionary  work  done  in 
Korea  has  been  carried  on  by  American  missionaries.  Just 
what  claim,  if  any,  upon  American  sympathy  and  aid  does  this 
fact  give  the  Koreans? 

REFERENCE  MATERIAL 
Independence  for  Korea 

Ever  since  Korea  lost  her  identity  as  a  nation  the  people  have  never 
considered  themselves  subjects  of  Japan.  Although  the  government 
regulations  do  not  allow  the  children  to  study  the  language  of  their 
fathers  in  the  schools,  they  gather  in  groups  after  school  to  study  the 
Korean  language  secretly.  Over  a  million  and  a  half  Koreans  have 
emigrated,  since  the  Japanese  occupation  of  the  peninsula,  into  China 
and  Siberia  to  escape  the  military  rule  and  economic  exploitation  of  their 
conquerors.  These  Koreans,  in  strange  lands,  organized  themselves  into 
communities,  had  their  own  local  governments,  and  refused  in  so  far  as 
it  was  possible  to  be  controlled  by  Japanese  consuls.  .  .  . 

In  191 1  the  Governor-General,  Viscount  Terauchi,  instituted 
what  is  known  in  the  church  annals  of  Korea  as  the  persecution  of  the 
Church.  Prominent  church  men,  leaders  in  Korean  thought  and  educa- 
tion, were  charged  with  conspiracy  and  put  in  prison.  Prominent 
American  missionaries  were  brought  into  the  trial  as  being  connected 
with  the  conspiracy  to  assassinate  the  Governor-General  of  Korea.  Here, 
however,  the  Japanese  overstepped  themselves.  Their  charges  against 
the  Korean  Church  aroused  considerable  criticism  in  the  West,  and  when 
they  saw  that  their  attempt  was  producing  a  reaction  they  stopped  the 


86  AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

persecution  of  the  Korean  Christians  and  satisfied  themselves  with  limit- 
ing the  activities  of  the  Church. 

The  World  War  and  the  principle  of  self-determination  as  it  has 
been  pronounced  by  President  Wilson,  fanned  the  smouldering  national- 
ism of  the  Korean  people  into  a  blaze.  On  March  i,  1919,  two  days 
prior  to  the  funeral  of  the  deceased  Emperor  Yi,  Koreans  all  over  the 
peninsula  proclaimed  their  independence  and  put  up  what  they  considered 
passive  resistance  to  the  Japanese  rule.  They  selected  this  date  because 
it  was  the  first  occasion  since  Japan  occupied  the  country  that  the  Jap- 
anese authorities  permitted  the  gathering  of  the  Koreans  in  groups,  .  .  . 

The  Koreans  residing  outside  of  Korea  were  unanimous  in  respond- 
ing to  the  trumpet  call  sounded  by  their  compatriots  in  Korea.  The 
Korean  students  in  Japan  were  arrested  and  convicted  by  the  Japanese 
authorities  for  their  revolutionary  activities.  .  .  .  The  Koreans  in  China 
presented  petitions  to  the  various  foreign  ministers  in  Peking,  asking 
them  to  use  their  good  offices  with  their  respective  governments  on  behalf 
of  the  struggle  of  the  Korean  people  for  independence.  The  Koreans  in 
America  have  done,  and  are  doing  their  "bit."  The  Congress  of  the 
Korean  race,  composed  of  the  delegates  from  Korean  communities  in 
America,  Hawaii,  and  Mexico,  met  in  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  April  14-16, 
1919. — Statement  of  Claim  for  Independence  and  Freedom  from  Foreign 
Domination,  Prepared  by  Korean  Information  Bureau  and  The  League 
of  the  Friends  of  Korea. 

The  Japanese  Point  of  View 

Realizing  the  island  isolation  and  the  limited  area  and  productivity 
of  their  own  land,  the  Japanese  look  upon  Chosen  on  the  adjacent  main- 
land as  necessary  to  afford  an  outlet  for  Japan's  overcrowded  population 
and  to  produce  the  additional  food  supplies  that  the  nation  needs.  More- 
over, from  a  military  and  political  point  of  view  it  is  the  most  exposed 
portion  of  the  empire,  as  Japan  comes  in  contact  with  China  and  some  of 
the  powerful  nations  of  Europe — a  serious  matter  in  this  unhappy  era  of 
racial  jealousies  and  strife.  In  1  these  circumstances,  the  Japanese  feel 
that  they  cannot  be  content  with  ruling  Chosen  as  an  outlying  dependency, 
as  America  rules  the  Philippine  Islands  and  Great  Britain  rules  India, 
but  that  they  must  amalgamate  Chosen  with  the  empire  and  assimilate  its 
people,  teaching  them  the  Japanese  language,  infusing  them  with  Jap- 
anese ideals,  and  developing  in  them  patriotic  feeling  for  Japan  as  their 
country.  The  Hon.  M.  Komatsu,  Director  of  the  Bureau  of  Foreign 
Affairs  of  the  Government-General  of  Chosen,  wrote  on  November  4th, 

"The  administrative  policy  fixed  by  the  imperial  government  of 
Japan  for  Chosen  fundamentally  differs  in  its  aim  from  that  taken  by 
European  and  American  governments  toward  their  colonies.    By  taking 


KOREA'S  DESIRE  FOR  INDEPENDENCE  87 

into  consideration  historical  and  racial  relations  between  the  two  peoples, 
it  is  the  purpose  of  Japan  to  assist,  guide,  and  lift  up  the  Korean  people 
lagging  in  the  race  of  civilization,  and  make  them  not  only  good  and 
intelligent  but  also  loyal  subjects  of  the  empire  in  name  and  reality.  .  .  ." 
It  is  inevitable  in  such  circumstances  that  the  Japanese  Government- 
General  should  be  sensitive  about  any  influences  which  they  regard  as  in 
the  slightest  degree  divisive  or  as  coming  between  them  and  the  people 
whom  they  are  trying  to  assimilate  and  that  they  should  feel  that  the 
carrying  out  of  their  policy,  in  the  peculiar  conditions  which  prevail  in 
Chosen,  justifies  a  closer  and  more  complete  governmental  control.  They 
understand  as  well  as  anyone  the  difficulty  of  changing  the  attitude  of 
mature  men  who  have  been  moulded  by  the  traditions  of  their  own  race, 
and  who  have  personal  memories  of  the  tumults  and  sorrows  which 
attended  the  subjugation  of  their  native  land  by  the  Japanese. — Arthur  J. 
Brown,  International  Review  of  Missions,  January,  1917,  pp.  74,  75. 

Extracts  from  Korea's  "Declaration  of  Independence" 

Victims  of  an  older  age,  when  brute  force  and  the  spirit  of  plunder 
ruled,  we  have  come,  after  these  long  thousands  of  years,  to  experience 
the  agony  of  ten  years  of  foreign  oppression,  with  every  loss  of  the  right 
to  live,  every  restriction  on  freedom  of  thought,  every  damage  done  to 
the  dignity  of  life,  every  opportunity  lost  for  a  share  in  the  intelligent 
advance  of  the  age  in  which  we  live.  .  .  . 

We  have  no  wish  especially  to  find  fault  with  Japan's  lack  of  fair- 
ness, or  her  contempt  of  our  civilization  and  the  principles  on  which  our 
state  rests.  We,  who  have  greater  cause  to  reprimand  ourselves,  need 
not  spend  precious  time  in  finding  fault  with  others;  neither  need  we, 
who  require  so  urgently  to  build  for  the  future,  spend  useless  hours  over 
what  is  past  and  gone.  Our  urgent  need  today  is  the  setting  up  of  this 
house  of  ours  and  not  a  discussion  of  who  has  broken  it  down  or  what  has 
caused  its  ruin.  Our  work  is  to  clear  the  future  of  defects  in  accord  with 
the  earnest  dictates  of  conscience.  Let  us  not  be  filled  with  bitterness 
or  resentment  over  past  agonies  or  past  occasions  for  anger.  .  .  . 

Ought  not  the  way  of  enlightened  courage  to  be  to  correct  the  evils 
of  the  past  by  ways  that  are  sincere,  and  by  true  sympathy  and  friendly 
feeling  make  a  new  world  in  which  the  two  peoples  will  be  equally 
blessed?  .  .  . 

To  bind  by  force  twenty  millions  of  resentful  Koreans  will  mean  not 
only  loss  of  peace  forever  for  this  part  of  the  Far  East,  but  also  will  mean 
for  that  center  of  danger  as  well  as  safety — the  four  hundred  millions  of 
China — a  suspicion  of  Japan  and  an  ever  deepening  hatred.  From  this 
all  the  rest  of  the  East  will  suffer.  Today  Korean  independence  would 
mean  not  only  life  and  happiness  for  us  but  also  it  would  mean  Japan's 
departure  from  an  evil  way  and  exaltation  to  the  place  of  true  Protector 


88  AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

of  the  East,  so  that  China,  too,  even  in  her  dreams,  would  put  all  fear  of 
Japan  aside.  This  thought  comes  from  no  minor  resentment,  but  from  a 
large  hope  for  the  future. 

A  new  era  wakes  before  our  eyes.  The  old  world  of  force  is  gone 
and  the  new  world  of  righteousness  and  truth  is  here.  Out  of  the  experi- 
ence and  travail  of  the  old  world  arises  this  light  of  life's  affairs.  The 
insects  stifled  by  the  ice  and  snow  of  winter  awake  at  this  same  time  with 
the  breezes  of  spring  and  the  soft  light  of  the  sun  upon  them. 

It  is  the  day  of  the  restoration  of  all  things,  on  the  full  tide  of  which 
we  step  forth  without  delay  or  fear.  We  desire  a  full  measure  of  satis- 
faction in  the  way  of  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  and  an  oppor- 
tunity to  develop  what  is  in  us  for  the  glory  of  our  people. 

We  awake  now  from  the  old  world  with  its  darkened  conditions  in 
full  determination  and  one  heart  and  one  mind,  with  right  on  our  side, 
along  with  the  forces  of  nature,  to  achieve  a  new  life.  May  all  the 
ancestors  to  the  thousandth  and  ten  thousandth  generation  aid  us  from 
within,  and  all  the  forces  of  the  world  aid  us  from  without,  and  let  the 
day  we  take  hold  be  the  day  of  our  attainment !  In  this  hope  we  go 
forward. — Quoted  by  Bishop  Herbert  Welch  in  Christian  Advocate,  July 
24,  1919. 

Weighing  the  Korean  Situation  in  the  Balance 

Let  us  remember  that  there  never  was  a  dirtier  Augean  stable  to  be 
cleansed  than  that  which  they  [the  Japanese]  found  in  the  land  of  The 
Morning  Calm,  and  that  the  mess  required  decisive  measures.  The 
historian  of  the  next  generation  will  be  in  better  position  to  take  an 
impartial  view  than  men  of  today,  who  are  in  danger  of  having  their 
judgment  warped  by  the  personal  feelings  that  have  been  aroused. 

Trying  to  look  at  the  matter  as  fairly  as  possible  now,  I  believe  that 
the  balance  inclines  heavily  in  favor  of  the  Japanese.  I  do  not  defend 
some  of  the  things  that  they  have  done.  I  sympathize  with  the  Koreans. 
They  would  be  unworthy  of  respect  if  they  did  not  prefer  their  national 
freedom.  One  can  understand  why  the  injustice  of  their  own  magistrates 
seemed  less  irksome  than  the  stern  justice  of  alien  conquerors.  Never- 
theless I  confess  to  sympathy  also  with  the  Japanese.  They  were  forced 
to  occupy  Korea  to  prevent  a  Russian  occupation,  which  would  have 
menaced  their  own  independence  as  a  nation.  They  are  now  struggling 
with  their  burden  against  heavy  odds,  with  limited  financial  resources, 
and  against  the  dislike  and  opposition  of  Koreans,  Russians,  Chinese,  and 
most  of  the  foreigners  in  the  Far  East.  While  we  should  as  frankly 
discuss  their  methods  as  we  would  those  of  our  own  country  in  similar 
circumstances  ...  we  should  avoid  the  error  of  assuming  that  we  can 
help  the  Koreans  by  unjust  abuse  of  their  rulers. 

It  would  be  narrow  and  unscientific  to  estimate  the  historic  value  of 


KOREA'S  DESIRE  FOR  INDEPENDENCE  89 

the  Japanese  occupation  of  Korea  solely  by  incidental  defects  of  method 
or  spirit,  just  as  it  would  be  to  protest  that  a  transcontinental  line  of 
railway  should  not  have  been  built  because  the  right-of-way  injured 
some  man's  property,  or  a  brutal  foreman  committed  acts  of  violence 
against  his  person  or  family.  We  should  view  a  movement  in  historic 
perspective,  deprecating  indeed  the  wrongs  of  the  people  concerned,  and 
visiting  full  blame  upon  those  who  unnecessarily  caused  them,  but  recog- 
nizing nevertheless  that  results,  even  when  achieved  by  imperfect  human 
instruments,  are  to  be  measured  rather  by  their  worth  to  the  country  and 
the  world  than  by  the  follies  and  crimes  of  some  of  the  men  who  had  a 
part  in  the  effort.  Looking  at  the  question  of  Japanese  administration 
as  a  whole,  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  there  are  a  large  way  and  a  small 
way  of  viewing  it. 

The  large  way  is  to  note  that  in  the  evolution  of  the  race  and  the 
development  of  the  plan  of  God,  the  time  had  come  when  it  was  for  the 
best  interests  of  the  world  and  for  the  welfare  of  the  Koreans  themselves 
that  Korea  should  come  under  the  tutelage  of  Japan.  All  great  move- 
ments in  this  world,  however  beneficent  in  general  character  and 
ultimate  purpose,  involve  human  agents  with  their  full  share  of  human 
infirmities.  Some  of  these  agents  are  apt  to  be  selfish,  some  greedy,  some 
cruel,  some  lustful.  The  development  of  a  movement,  therefore,  is 
certain  to  be  attended  by  many  individual  acts  that  are  wrong.  Historic 
illustrations  will  at  once  occur  to  every  student.  .  .  . 

The  small  way  of  considering  a  historical  question  is  to  fix  our  atten- 
tion on  such  acts  of  individuals  or  even  on  the  policies  of  men  temporarily 
in  official  position.  We  should  not  hastily  conclude  that,  because  a 
period  of  transition  is  turbulent  and  many  of  its  agents  are  blundering 
or  unscrupulous,  the  movement  itself  is  bad.  It  is  right  that  we  should 
plainly  and  firmly  protest  against  Japanese  acts  of  injustice  to  the  helpless 
Koreans,  right  to  do  everything  in  our  power  to  remedy  injustice;  but  it 
would  be  grievously  wrong  to  act  on  the  supposition  that  it  is  not  best  for 
Japan  to  be  in  Korea  and  to  antagonize  the  general  policy  of  reconstruc- 
tion. We  sympathize  with  the  natural  aspirations  of  any  people  for  an 
independent  nationality;  but  the  Koreans  could  not  be  independent  any- 
way under  present  conditions  in  the  Far  East,  and  they  are  far  better  off 
under  the  Japanese  than  they  were  under  their  own  rulers  or  than  they 
would  have  been  under  the  Russians.  Nothing  could  be  worse  for  Korea 
than  plunging  her  back  into  the  abyss  of  corruption,  weakness,  and  op- 
pression of  the  old  regime.  A  new  order  is  being  established.  The 
Koreans  are  being  given  better  opportunities  for  advancement.  The  Jap- 
anese are  the  political  and  economic  agents  through  whom  this  uplifting 
movement  is  being  developed.  They  have  made  some  mistakes  and  they 
will  doubtless  make  more;  but  on  the  whole  their  work  in  Korea  has 
been  beneficent  in  many  ways.  Of  course  it  is  hard  for  the  Koreans,  and 
for  their  foreign  friends  who  came  to  the  country  in  the  old  days,  to 


90  AMERICA'S   STAKE   IN  THE   FAR  EAST 

adapt  themselves  to  the  changed  conditions;  but  there  is  no  alternative, 
and  it  is  the  part  of  wisdom  ungrudgingly  to  recognize  the  inescapable 
situation.  .  .  . 

The  Korean  who  philosophically  accepts  the  new  conditions  finds  that 
he  can  get  steadier  and  more  remunerative  employment  than  he  could  in 
the  old  days  of  native  rule.  He  can  wear  better  clothing  and  have  a 
more  comfortable  house.  His  alien  masters  are,  as  a  rule,  more  just  with 
him  than  the  native  officials  were  prior  to  Japanese  occupation.  If  he 
is  wronged  by  one  of  his  own  countrymen,  he  is  more  apt  to  get  justice 
in  the  courts  without  bribing  an  official  than  he  was  in  the  old  days  of 
Korean  "independence." — ^Arthur  J.  Brown,  "The  Mastery  of  the  Far 
East,"  pp.  371-373- 

The  Relations  of  a  Dominant  to  a  Dependent  People 

In  passing  judgment  upon  the  relations  of  a  dominant  to  a  dependent 
people,  three  main  questions  of  ethical  right  arise:  (i)  The  justification 
for  holding  an  unwilling  people  in  subjection;  (2)  the  political  and  civil 
rights  that  should  be  granted  to  them;  and  (3)  the  regard  that  should  be 
had  for  their  material  and  cultural  interests.  What  answers  to  the 
questions  thus  involved  have  the  Japanese  given  by  their  dealings  with  the 
Koreans  ? 

It  may  be  asserted,  without  qualification,  that  no  nation  has  an 
ethical  right  to  subject  another  people,  against  their  will,  to  its  own 
political  domination  solely  upon  the  ground  that  this  overlordship  is 
needed  in  order  that  its  own  political  or  economic  interests  may  be 
advanced.  To  admit  that  there  may  be  such  a  right  of  national  selfish- 
ness is  to  take  away  the  very  foundation  of  international  comity  and 
morality.  The  principle  of  national  self-defense  may  be  carried  to  the 
extent  of  holding  that  one  nation  may  object  to  the  passing  of  a  neigh- 
boring state  under  the  political  control  of  a  third  state  if  the  result  will 
be  to  create  a  power  which  will  be  a  danger  to  the  first  state's  national 
safety  or  domestic  tranquillity.  This  principle  is,  indeed,  implied  in  the 
Monroe  Doctrine,  and  was  appealed  to  when  the  United  States  demanded 
that  the  French  Government  should  withdraw  its  military  forces  from 
Mexico.  Japan  was  thus  well  within  its  right  when  it  went  to  war 
with  Russia  to  prevent  her  further  increasing  her  political  influence  in 
Korea.  But  the  annexation  by  Japan  of  that  country,  against  the  will 
of  its  people,  was  another  matter.  At  the  time  this  annexation  was 
effected,  Korea  was  not  in  itself  a  menace  to  Japan,  and,  Russia  having 
been  defeated,  and  even  her  control  to  the  north  of  Korea  having  been 
transferred  to  Japan,  together  with  the  lease  of  Port  Arthur  and  Dairen, 
there  was  no  discernible  danger  that  Korea  would  pass  under  the  control 
of  another  power  who  would  thus  be  able  to  threaten  the  national  security 
of  nearby  Japan.     It  is  impossible,  therefore,  ethically  to  justify  the 


KOREA'S  DESIRE  FOR  INDEPENDENCiE  gt 

annexation  by  Japan  of  the  Korean  peninsula,  on  the  ground  that 
otherwise  the  independence  of  Japan  would  have  been  threatened. 

The  Japanese  have,  however,  sought  to  justify  the  annexation  on 
the  ground  that  they  are  an  expanding  people,  with  an  already  over- 
crowded territory,  and  in  need  of  raw  materials  that  their  own  soil  does 
not  provide.  And  also  that,  as  a  politically  ambitious  people,  they  need 
to  increase  their  power  in  order  to  be  able  to  take  a  more  prominent 
place  among  the  nations  of  the  world.  These  are,  of  course,  the  same 
arguments  as  those  upon  which  Prussia  sought  to  defend  her  aggressive 
policies,  and  to  uphold  her  right  to  subordinate  the  wishes  apd  interests 
of  other  peoples  to  her  own  ambitions.  We  need  not,  therefore,  stop  to 
refute  them. 

There  is,  however,  one  ground  upon  which  a  stronger  nation  is 
ethically  entitled  to  subject  another  and  unwilling  people  to  its  political 
domination.  This  ground  exists  when  thus,  and  only  thus,  the  subjected 
people  may  be  given  a  regime  of  law  and  order  which  it  has  been  made 
reasonably  certain  they  are  unable  to  provide  for  themselves. 

When  annexation  is  justified  upon  this  ground,  it  is  clear  that  the 
dominant  state  is  committed  to  the  altruistic  task  of  seeking,  with  single 
purpose,  to  advance  the  interests  of  the  governed,  and  to  prepare  them 
as  speedily  as  possible  for  the  time  when  they  will  be  able  to  govern  them- 
selves with  efficiency  and  honesty,  and,  when  that  time  comes,  to  give 
them  the  option  whether  or  not  they  will  remain  under  the  political 
sovereignty  of  the  dominant  state. 

The  Japanese  claim  with  reference  to  the  Koreans  that  they  are  not 
qualified  to  govern  themselves,  though  they  have  not  sought  to  justify  the 
annexation  of  the  country,  except  in  a  minor  measure,  upon  this  ground. 
Certain  it  is  that  the  native  Korean  government  that  existed  prior  to 
annexation  was  wretched  in  the  extreme — dishonest,  oppressive,  and  in- 
efficient. This  fact  the  Japanese  would  be  warranted  in  emphasizing 
except  for  the  circumstance  that  they  have  been  unwilling  to  recognize 
the  obligation  to  seek  to  correct,  as  speedily  as  possible,  this  political 
incapacity.  Upon  the  contrary,  .  .  .  the  Japanese  have  sought  in  every 
possible  way  to  hinder  the  progress  among  the  Koreans  of  even  the 
ideas  of  self-government  or  aspiration  for  it. 

Having  denied  to  the  Koreans  not  only  independence  but  administra- 
tive autonomy  and  even  an  equality  of  right  of  participation  with  their 
rulers  in  the  enjoyment  of  offices  of  public  trust,  it  would  seem  that  there 
would  rest  upon  the  Japanese  an  especially  great  obligation  to  have  regard 
for  at  least  the  private  personal  and  property  rights  of  the  people  thus 
placed  wholly  at  their  mercy.  But  this  obligation  they  have  not  recog- 
nized, or  at  least  given  effect  to.  In  general,  as  has  been  already  said, 
the  Koreans  have,  of  course,  profited  by  the  relative  efficiency  of  the 
Japanese  administration.  But  even-handed  justice  has  not  been  dis- 
pensed to  them,  and  civil  rights  have  not  been  provided  so  that  the 


92  AMERICA'S   STAKE   IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

individual  Korean  is  able  to  feel  himself,  in  person  or  property,  secure 
from  oppression.  .  .  . 

The  policies  which  the  Japanese  have  pursued  in  Korea  have  been 
dictated  by  their  own  political  and  constitutional  ideals.  In  Japan  itself 
there  is  little  idea  of  popular  or  local  self-government,  or  of  individual 
rights  as  opposed  to  public  authority.  It  is,  therefore,  not  to  be  expected 
that  the  Japanese  would  grant  to  a  subject  people  certain  of  the  political 
and  civil  rights  which  the  United  States  has  accorded  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Philippine  Islands.  But  there  has  been  no  reason  whatever  why 
private  rights  of  property  and  person  should  not  have  been  respected, 
why  even-handed  justice  should  not  have  been  administered,  and,  above 
all,  why  the  attempt  should  have  been  made  to  crush  out  the  distinctive 
culture  and  civilization  of  Korea. 

It  is  not  simply  that  the  Koreans  are  a  people  of  over  seventeen 
millions,  and  inhabit  a  country  nearly  the  size  of  Japan  itself,  but  that 
they  have  had  a  long  history  of  national  independence,  have  created  for 
themselves  a  language,  a  literature,  and  an  art — in  short  that  they  con- 
stitute a  nation  in  every  ethnic,  historical,  and  cultural  sense  of  the  word. 
Certainly  it  would  seem  that  if  the  principle  of  national  self-determina- 
tion has  any  validity  at  all,  it  should  be  applied  to  this  people  to  the 
extent  of  at  least  guaranteeing  to  them  the  preservation  of  their  distinc- 
tive civilization  and  the  hope  of  a  time  when  they  shall  have  control  of 
their  own  national  development.  And  their  case  is  rendered  still  stronger 
when  consideration  is  had  of  the  fact  that  their  present  rulers,  in  political 
philosophy  as  well  as  in  political  practice,  are  exponents  of  principles 
which  the  rest  of  the  civilized  world  has  agreed  are  false  and  pernicious. 
It  is  sufficiently  serious  that  the  Japanese  should  be  willing  to  apply  such 
doctrines  in  the  government  of  themselves.  It  becomes  a  grievous  matter 
when  they  apply  them  by  force  to  another  people. — Professor  W.  W. 
Willoughby,  Johns  Hopkins  University,  Unpartizan  Review,  January- 
February,  1920,  pp.  37-42. 

What  Is  the  True  Estimate  of  Korean  Character? 

The  peaceful  uprising  of  the  people  of  Korea  against  Japan  in  the 
spring  of  1919  came  as  a  world  surprise.  Here  was  a  nation  that  had 
been  ticketed  and  docketed  by  world  statesmen  as  degenerate  and 
cowardly,  revealing  heroism  of  a  very  high  order. 

The  soldier  facing  the  enemy  in  the  open  is  inspired  by  the  atmos- 
phere of  war,  and  knows  that  he  has  at  least  a  fighting  chance  against 
his  foe.  The  Koreans  took  their  stand — ^their  women  and  children  by 
their  side — without  weapons  and  without  means  of  defense.  They 
pledged  themselves  ahead  to  show  no  violence.  They  had  all  too  good 
reason  to  anticipate  that  their  lot  would  be  the  same  as  that  of  others 
who  had  preceded  them — torture  as  ingenious  and  varied  as  Torquemada 
and  his  familiars  ever  practiced. 


KOREA'S  DESIRE  FOR  INDEPENDENCE  93 

They  were  not  disappointed.  They  were  called  on  to  endure  all  that 
they  had  anticipated,  in  good  measure,  pressed  down  and  running  over. 
When  they  were  dragged  to  prison,  others  stepped  into  their  place. 
When  these  were  taken,  still  others  were  ready  to  succeed  them.  And 
more  are  even  now  waiting  to  join  in  the  dreadful  procession,  if  the 
protests  of  the  civilized  world  do  not  induce  Japan  to  call  a  halt. 

It  seems  evident  that  either  the  world  made  a  mistake  in  its  first 
estimate  of  Korean  character,  or  these  people  have  experienced  a  new 
birth.     Which  is  the  right  explanation?     Maybe  both. 

To  understand  what  has  happened,  and  what,  as  I  write,  is  still 
happening,  one  has  to  go  back  for  a  few  years.  When  Japan,  in  face  of 
her  repeated  pledges,  annexed  Korea,  her  statesmen  adopted  an  avowed 
policy  of  assimilation.  They  attempted  to  turn  the  people  of  Korea  into 
Japanese — an  inferior  brand  of  Japanese,  a  serf  race,  speaking  the 
language  and  following  the  customs  of  their  overlords,  and  serving  them. 

To  accomplish  this  better,  the  Koreans  were  isolated,  not  allowed  to 
mix  freely  with  the  outer  world,  and  deprived  of  liberty  of  speech,  person, 
and  press.  The  Japanese  brought  certain  material  reforms.  They  for- 
got to  supply  one  thing — ^justice.  Men  of  progressive  ideas  were  seized 
and  imprisoned  in  such  numbers  that  a  new  series  of  prisons  had  to  be 
built.  In  six  years  the  total  of  prisoners  convicted  or  awaiting  trial 
doubled.  The  rule  of  the  big  stick  was  instituted,  and  the  Japanese 
police  were  given  the  right  to  flog  without  trial  any  Korean  they  pleased. 
The  bamboo  was  employed  on  scores  of  thousands  of  people  each  year, 
employed  so  vigorously  as  to  leave  a  train  of  cripples  and  corpses  behind. 
The  old  tyranny  of  the  yang-ban  was  replaced  by  a  more  terrible,  because 
more  scientifically  cruel,  tyranny  of  an  uncontrolled  police. 

The  Japanese  struck  an  unexpected  strain  of  hardness  in  the  Korean 
character.  They  found,  underneath  the  surface  apathy,  a  spirit  as  de- 
termined as  their  own.  They  succeeded,  not  in  assimilating  the  people, 
but  in  reviving  their  sense  of  nationality. 

Before  Japan  acquired  the  country,  large  numbers  of  Koreans  had 
adopted  Christianity.  Under  the  influence  of  the  teachers  from  America, 
they  became  clean  in  person,  they  brought  their  women  out  from  the 
anpang  (zenana)  into  the  light  of  day,  and  they  absorbed  Western  ideas 
and  ideals.  The  mission  schools  taught  modern  history,  with  its  tales  of 
the  heroes  and  heroines  of  liberty,  women  like  Joan  of  Arc,  men  like 
Hampden  and  George  Washington.  And  the  missionaries  circulated  and 
taught  the  Bible — the  most  dynamic  and  disturbing  book  in  the  world. 
When  a  people  saturated  in  the  Bible  comes  into  touch  with  tyranny, 
either  one  of  two  things  happens — the  people  are  exterminated  or 
tyranny  ceases. 

The  Japanese  realized  their  danger.  They  tried,  in  vain,  to  bring 
the  churches  under  Japanese  control.  They  confiscated  or  forbade  mis- 
sionary textbooks,  substituting  their  own.    Failing  to  win  the  support  of 


94  AMERICA'S   STAKE   IN   THE   FAR  EAST 

the  Christians,  they  instituted  a  widespread  persecution  of  the  Christian 
leaders  of  the  north.  Many  were  arrested  and  tortured  on  charges  which 
the  Japanese  courts  themselves  afterwards  found  to  be  false.  The 
Koreans  endured  until  they  could  endure  no  more.  .  .  . 

"What  do  you  want  us  to  do?"  men  ask  me.  "Do  you  seriously 
suggest  that  America  or  Great  Britain  should  risk  a  breach  of  good 
relations  or  even  a  war  with  Japan  to  help  Korea?  If  not,  what  is  the 
use  of  saying  anything?  You  only  make  the  Japanese  harden  their 
hearts  still  more." 

What  can  we  do  ?    Everything ! 

I  appeal  first  to  the  Christian  churches  of  the  United  States,  Canada, 
and  Britain.  I  have  seen  what  your  representatives,  more  particularly 
the  agents  of  the  American  and  Canadian  churches,  have  accomplished  in 
Korea  itself.  They  have  built  wisely  and  well,  and  have  launched  the 
most  hopeful  and  flourishing  Christian  movement  in  Asia.  Their  con- 
verts have  established  congregations  that  are  themselves  missionary 
churches,  sending  out  and  supporting  their  own  teachers  and  preachers 
to  China.  A  great  light  has  been  lit  in  Asia.  Shall  it  be  extinguished? 
For,  make  no  mistake,  the  work  is  threatened  with  destruction.  Many 
of  the  church  buildings  have  been  burned;  many  of  the  native  leaders 
have  been  tortured  and  imprisoned;  many  of  their  followers — men, 
women,  and  children — have  been  flogged,  or  clubbed,  or  shot. 

You,  the  Christians  of  the  United  States  and  of  Canada,  are  largely 
responsible  for  these  people.  The  teachers  you  sent  and  supported  taught 
them  the  faith  that  led  them  to  hunger  for  freedom.  They  taught  them 
the  dignity  of  their  bodies  and  awakened  their  minds.  They  brought  them 
a  Book  whose  commands  made  them  object  to  worship  the  picture  of  the 
Emperor — even  of  the  Japanese  Emperor — made  them  righteously  angry 
when  they  were  ordered  to  put  part  of  their  Christian  homes  apart  for 
the  diseased  outcasts  of  the  Yoshiwara  to  conduct  their  foul  business, 
made  them  resent  having  the  trade  of  the  opium  seller  or  the  morphia 
agent  introduced  among  them. 

Your  teaching  has  brought  them  floggings,  tortures  unspeakable, 
death.  I  do  not  mourn  for  them,  for  they  have  found  something  to 
which  the  blows  of  the  lashed  twin  bamboos  and  the  sizzling  of  the 
hot  iron  as  it  sears  their  flesh  are  small  indeed.  But  I  would  mourn  for 
you,  if  you  were  willing  to  leave  them  unhelped,  to  shut  your  ears  to  their 
calls,  to  deny  them  your  practical  sympathy.  .  .  . 

Men  say — and  say  rightly — that  Korea  is  the  key-land  of  north- 
eastern Asia,  so  far  as  domination  of  that  part  of  the  lands  of  the  Pacific 
is  concerned.  Korea  is  still  more  the  key-land  of  Asia  .for  Western 
civilization  and  Christian  ideals.  Let  Christianity  be  throttled  here, 
and  it  will  have  received  a  setback  in  Asia  from  which  it  will  take 
generations  to  recover. 

"The  Koreans  are  a  degenerate  people,  not  fit  for  self-government," 


KOREA'S  DESIRE  FOR  INDEPENDENCE  95 

says  the  man  whose  mind  has  been  poisoned  by  subtle  Japanese  propa- 
ganda. Korea  has  only  been  a  very  few  years  in  contact  with  Western 
civilization,  but  it  has  already  indicated  that  this  charge  is  a  lie.  Its 
old  government  was  corrupt,  and  deserved  to  fall.  But  its  people, 
wherever  they  have  had  a  chance,  have  demonstrated  their  capacity. — 
Frederick  A.  McKenzie,  "Korea's  Fight  for  Freedom,"  pp.  5-8,  315-318. 

Extinguishing  the  Soul  of  Korea 

Something  more  than  mere  economic  pressure  and  political  domina- 
tion is  needed  to  extinguish  the  soul  of  Korea.  History  and  literature  are 
the  records  of  past  achievements,  and  language  is  the  medium  of  expres- 
sion that  gives  birth  to  genius.  Japanese  statesmen  fully  appreciate  the 
importance  of  this  triple  support  of  national  consciousness.  They  made 
a  systematic  collection  of  all  works  of  Korean  history  and  literature  in 
public  archives  and  private  homes  and  burned  them.  This  is  undoubtedly 
the  greatest  injustice  that  the  Korean  people  have  suffered  at  the  hands 
of  the  Japanese.  Korean  scholars  consider  this  an  irreparable  loss 
second  only  to  the  destruction  of  the  Alexandrian  Library  by  Omar  in 
640.  Priceless  treasures  have  been  destroyed  by  this  needless  vandalism 
of  the  Japanese.  All  Korean  periodical  literature — from  local  news- 
papers  to   scientific   journals — has   been   completely    stamped   out.  .  .  . 

Under  the  pretext  of  unifying  the  educational  system  of  Korea  and 
bringing  it  up  to  a  "higher  standard,"  the  Government  passed  educational 
regulations  which  forbid  religious  services  and  the  teaching  of  history, 
geography,  and  the  Korean  language  in  all  the  schools  in  Korea. 
Furthermore,  these  regulations  provide  that  all  Korean  schools  shall  be 
under  the  strict  supervision  of  Japanese  educators,  and  that  the  Korean 
children  shall  be  taught  to  salute  the  Japanese  flag  and  worship  the 
Japanese  Emperor's  tablet.  Korean  students  who  go  to  Japan  for  their 
education  are  advised  to  attend  trade  or  technical  schools,  but  they  are 
insidiously  discriminated  against  in  the  higher  educational  institutions. 
This  is  an  ironic  inconsistency  in  the  face  of  Japan's  position  at  the 
Peace  Conference,  where  she  is  demanding  for  her  subjects  rights  from 
America  and  Great  Britain  equal  to  those  enjoyed  by  natives  of  the 
countries  against  whom  there  is  no  racial  discrimination.  It  is  im- 
possible for  a  Korean  student,  who  goes  to  Japan  under  government 
supervision,  to  specialize  in  such  subjects  as  law,  history,  or  economics 
in  the  Imperial  University  of  Tokyo,  and  he  may  not  go  to  Europe  or 
America  to  finish  his  education. 

The  tragedy  in  the  case  of  the  Korean  is  that  he  suffers  the  fate  of 
a  conquered  race,  alike  with  the  Poles  and  the  Bohemians  before  the 
World  War,  yet  his  plight  is  little  known  to  the  outside  world. — Henry 
Chung,  Asittj  May,  1919,  pp.  471-473. 


CHAPTER  IX 

WHAT  BEARING  HAS  AMERICAN  CONTROL  OF 

THE  PHILIPPINES  UPON  THE  DESTINY 

OF  THE  FAR  EAST  ? 

I.  How  does  American  control  o£  the  Philippines  affect  our 

responsibility  for  helping  to  secure  a  right  solution  of 
the  Far-Eastern  problem? 

1.  Does  our  presence  in  the  Philippines  increase  or  decrease  our 
solicitude  as  to  what  happens  on  the  mainland  of  Asia?    Why? 

2.  Just  in  what  ways  does  American  control  of  the  Philippines 
make  our  country  a  party  to  the  Far-Eastern  problem? 

3.  What  is  the  significance  of  the  Philippines  as  a  commercial 
and  naval  base  for  the  United  States  ? 

4.  What  bearing,  if  any,  have  American  supremacy  and  Ameri- 
can policies  in  the  Philippines  on  the  growth  of  self-sustaining 
government  in  the  Orient? 

5.  How  does  American  occupation  of  the  Philippines  affect  the 
possibility  of  her  taking  a  disinterested  part  in  attempts  toward 
the  solution  of  the  Far-Eastern  problem? 

II.  What  do  you  think  of  America's  record  in  the  Philippines? 

1 .  How  did  the  United  States  come  to  be  in  the  Philippines  ? 

2.  What  has  been  the  purpose  of  the  United  States  with  refer- 
ence to  these  wards  of  the  nation  ? 

3.  How  well  has  the  United  States  succeeded  in  carrying  out 
her  declared  purpose  regarding  these  islands  ? 

III.  Is  it  or  is  it  not  possible  for  America  to  withdraw  from 

the  Philippines  without  menacing  the  future  of  these 
islands? 

1.  How  nearly  are  the  peoples  and  tribes  of  the  Philippines  ready 
to  govern  themselves  ? 

2.  How  much  danger  is  there  that  Japan  would  seek  to  take  the 
Philippines  were  the  United  States  to  withdraw  ?  In  discussing 
this,  take  into  consideration  the  ways  in  which  the  Philippines 
would  be  a  desirable  addition  to  Japan  from  the  point  of  view : 

96 


AMERICAN   CONTROL   OF   PHILIPPINES?         97 

a.  Of  achieving  the  domination  of  the  trade  routes  of  the 
western  Pacific. 

b.  Of  securing  an  outlet  for  the  excess  of  Japanese  population. 

c.  Of  acquiring  additional  areas  for  commercial  exploitation. 

3.  Would  the  Philippines  if  independent  be  likely  to  be  able  to 
defend  themselves  against  an  aggressive  Japan?  What  leads 
you  to  your  opinion  ? 

4.  What  considerations  would  lead  you  to  feel  that  it  would  be 
to  the  interest  of  the  Filipino  people  for  America  to  with- 
draw? What  considerations  would  lead  you  to  feel  that  it 
would  be  to  their  interest  for  her  to  continue  her  administrative 
responsibilities  ? 

IV.  Should  the  nations  of  the  East  or  those  o£  the  West  have 

the  dominating  influence  in  the  Philippines? 

1.  Should  the  United  States  in  pursuance  of  a  benevolent  over- 
lordship  in  the  Philippines  seek  to  relate  the  people  of  the 
islands  as  completely  as  possible  to  the  developing  types  of 
Asiatic  culture  and  life  of  the  Far  East,  or  should  this  guidance 
be  in  the  direction  of  the  fullest  possible  Occidental  culture? 

2.  If  the  Philippines  are  able  to  maintain  their  own  independent 
government  and  if  under  such  circumstances  they  should  prefer 
Asiatic  administrative  affiliations,  say  with  the  Japanese  or  the 
Chinese,  what  should  be  the  attitude  of  the  United  States  ? 

V.  In  general,  what  should  be  the  future  policy  of  the  United 

States  with  respect  to  the  Philippines? 

REFERENCE  MATERIAL 

How  America  Came  to  Be  in  the  Philippines 

The  Philippines  do  not,  like  Porto  Rico,  stand  guard  at  the  gateway 
of  our  homeland.  They  guard  the  entrance  to  a  remote  and  different 
world.  To  us  here  at  home  they  are  hardly  a  defense.  They  are  rather 
a  thing  to  be  defended,  and  that  at  a  distance  and  against  possible 
claimants  near  at  hand.  Their  value  depends  all  upon  our  farther  policy. 
If  we  are  minded  to  push  our  battle  line  out  to  this  front  of  the  far 
eastern  world,  to  plant  our  naval  stations  in  every  sea  and  police  the 
planet  with  our  sentinels,  then  the  Philippines  are  a  brave  beginning.  But 
we  had  not  planned  to  do  that.  We  had  not  thought  we  wished  to  do  itL 
Nay,  up  to  the  very  time  when  it  all  happened,  we  had  not  wished  it. 
We  had  resolved  to  free  Cuba  and  to  abate  a  standing  nuisance  in  our 
neighborhood.    And  lo,  here  we  find  ourselves  in  Malay  land,  deep 


98  AMERICA'S   STAKE   IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

enmeshed  in  the  tangled  web  of  the  East.  It  may  all  be  fortunate,  but  it 
certainly  was  not  intended.  If  in  advance,  any  one  had  proposed  to 
annex  the  Philippines  we  should  have  questioned  his  sanity. 

The  decision  once  reached  to  annex  the  Philippines,  the  treaty  was 
framed  with  intelligent  regard  to  the  true  situation.  Manila  could 
not  fail  to  be  a  naval  station  of  importance,  and  all  precautions  were 
taken  against  its  isolation.  The  commercial  route  to  the  Philippines  is 
usually  a  roundabout  one,  for  ships  find  it  advisable  to  touch  at  Japanese 
and  Chinese  ports  as  well  as  at  Manila.  But  for  naval  and  military 
purposes  a  direct  route  is  preferable.  Hawaii  lies  on  this  direct  route 
about  three  thousand  miles  from  our  shores.  In  the  six  or  seven 
thousand  miles  from  Hawaii  to  Manila  an  intermediate  station  was 
desired.  This  was  supplied  by  the  island  of  Guam,  which  Spain  was  also 
compelled  to  yield.  With  the  annexation  of  Tutuila  a  year  later,  the 
United  States  completed  its  system  of  stepping  stones  across  the  Pacific, 
Hawaii  for  Japan,  Hawaii  and  Guam  for  Manila,  and  Hawaii  and  Tutuila 
for  New  Zealand  and  Australia.  Britain  herself  could  not  have  chosen 
them  better.  She  had  been  our  teacher,  and  we  had  not  sat  at  her  feet 
in  vain. 

It  is  all  so  natural,  yet  all  so  unexpected,  so  momentous.  Two  years 
before,  ours  was  a  republic,  home  staying  and  with  no  thought  but  to 
continue  so.  And  now  an  empire  had  risen,  an  empire  of  which  we  had 
been  the  builders  but  not  the  architect.  Harry  H.  Powers,  "America 
among  the  Nations,"  pp.  io6,  107. 

The  American  Record  in  the  Philippines 

None  can  doubt  the  material  benefits  to  the  Filipinos  of  American 
rule  during  the  first  fifteen  years  of  our  occupation  of  the  islands.  But 
it  is  equally  a  fact  that  we  held  the  people  under  a  system  of  government 
contrary  to  the  spirit  and  letter  of  American  institutions.  The  violation 
of  the  dominating  principle  of  our  own  Declaration  of  Independence  that 
"all  men  are  created  equal"  and  of  our  belief  that  "taxation  without 
representation"  is  inadmissible,  was  defended  by  the  familiar  pleas 
which  uphold  the  doctrine  of  European  eminent  domain.  President 
Roosevelt,  who  had  said  in  1904  that  the  Filipinos  were  "utterly  in- 
capable of  existing  in  independence  at  all,  or  of  building  up  a  civilization 
of  their  own,"  announced  two  years  later  that  constantly  increasing 
measures  of  liberty  were  being  accorded  to  the  Filipinos,  and  that  in 
the  spring  of  1907,  if  "conditions  warranted,"  their  capacity  for  self- 
government  would  be  tested  by  summoning  the  first  legislative  assembly. 
On  July  20,  1907,  election  of  delegates  to  the  assembly  was  held.  But 
suffrage  was  limited.  There  was  a  property  qualification — a  principle 
Americans  had  always  refused  to  admit  for  themselves.  Less  than 
100,000  votes  were  cast. 


AMERICAN   CONTROL   OF   PHILIPPINES?  99 

The  repercussion  of  the  nationalist  feeling  that  swept  Asia  in  1910 
caused  uprisings  in  several  islands.  Our  troops  were  compelled  to  take 
the  field  again.  The  Democratic  Party  went  before  the  country  in  the 
election  of  19 12  with  a  plank  promising  independence  to  the  Filipinos  at 
an  early  date.  Congressman  Jones  of  Virginia  introduced  a  bill  granting 
the  Filipinos  a  provisional  government  from  July  4,  1913,  and  complete 
independence  after  eight  years.  The  bill  was  accompanied  by  a  joint 
resolution,  requesting  the  President  to  negotiate  the  treaty  with  other 
world  powers  to  neutralize  the  Philippines  and  guarantee  their  inde- 
pendence by  international  agreement.  An  eminent  American,  who  had 
been  an  official  of  our  government  in  the  Philippine  Islands  for  some 
years,  wrote  at  the  time:  "The  Filipino  people  believe  that  the  platform 
of  the  Democratic  Party  promised  them  their  independence  at  an  early 
date.  Rightly  or  wrongly,  they  have  thus  interpreted  the  declarations  of 
the  leaders  of  that  party  made  publicly  and  privately.  They  are  not 
sufficiently  practiced  in  self-government  to  draw  any  distinction  between 
promises  and  platform  promises." 

But  not  until  August  29,  1916,  did  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
provide  an  autonomous  form  of  government  for  the  islands,  with  both 
branches  of  the  legislative  body  elective.  By  the  terms  of  the  present 
Organic  Act,  there  are  six  executive  departments,  whose  secretaries  are 
appointed  by  the  Governor-General  with  the  consent  of  the  Philippine 
Senate.  Only  the  Secretary  of  the  Department  of  Public  Instruction 
is  an  American.  Since  the  passage  of  this  act,  local  municipal  govern- 
ment has  been  instituted  in  nearly  900  towns. 

The  glory  of  the  American  occupation  of  the  Philippines  is  the 
public  school  system  that  has  been  organized  in  twenty  years.  There  are 
nearly  5,000  schools  with  an  enrolment  of  nearly  700,000  students,  served 
by  more  than  12,000  teachers.  English  is  taught  in  every  school.  To 
these  imposing  totals  can  be  added  2,500  university  students  and  26,000 
pupils  in  200  private  schools.  To  realize  what  the  Americans  have  suc- 
ceeded in  doing  in  the  Philippines,  one  has  only  to  contrast  their  work 
in  education  with  that  of  the  French  in  Indo-China  and  the  Dutch  in  the 
East  Indies,  the  two  neighboring  colonial  dominions.  In  Egypt,  a  richer 
country  with  larger  revenue  and  about  the  same  population,  the  British 
Ministry  of  Education  has  under  its  direct  management  schools  for  30,000 
pupils.  In  the  elementary  vernacular  schools  of  Egypt,  the  total  enrol- 
ment is  about  250,000!  Illiteracy  in  Egypt  is  ninety- four  per  cent 
after  nearly  forty  years  of  British  occupation.  This  is  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal accusations  of  the  Egyptians  against  British  rule.  Material  benefits 
are  given  the  natives  in  colonies  administered  by  European  powers.  But 
nowhere  in  Africa  or  Asia,  outside  of  the  Philippines,  can  one  see  an 
honest  effort  being  made  to  help  the  people  toward  a  higher  civilization 
through  education. 

The  complaint  is  rightly  made  by  defenders  of  the  European  colonial 


lOO         AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

system  that  the  results  of  educating  the  natives  have  been  unsatisfactory. 
For  political  agitators  who  lead  the  movement  for  self-government  are, 
without  exception,  the  product  of  the  schools.  If  only  we  could  have 
textbooks  for  Asiatics  without  mention  of  the  Magna  Charta,  John 
Hampden,  the  fate  of  Charles  I  and  the  Star  Chamber,  and  the  American 
and  French  revolutions ! 

The  inevitable  result  of  our  efforts  at  education  in  the  Philippines  is 
the  determination  of  the  Filipinos  to  run  their  own  affairs.  It  is  fortu- 
nate that  the  United  States  went  to  the  Peace  Congress  with  the  Organic 
Act  of  19 1 6  in  active  and  effective  operation.  The  American  Govern- 
ment and  the  American  people  do  not  oppose  the  demands  of  the  Filipinos 
for  independence.  During  the  Peace  Conference,  a  delegation. of  repre- 
sentative Filipinos  visited  Washington  to  ask  for  independence.  They 
received  encouragement  from  officials  and  newspapers  alike.  The  senti- 
ment of  the  American  people  was  well  expressed  by  Secretary  of  War 
Baker  when  he  told  the  Filipino  delegation  that  'Americans  love  liberty 
too  greatly  to  deny  it  to  others." — Herbert  Adams  Gibbons,  "The  New 
Map  of  Asia,"  pp.  137-141. 

The  Philippines  as  a  Trade  Base 

Our  fellow-Americans,  the  Filipinos,  are  going  to  be  valuable  lieu- 
tenants in  our  Far-Eastern  trade  drive  after  the  war.  The  extent  to 
which  American  manufacturers  take  advantage  of  the  raw  materials  and 
the  cheap  and  skilled  labor  available  in  the  Philippine  Islands  and  estab- 
lish branch  factories  there  will  have  an  important  bearing  upon  the 
volume  of  sales  of  American  goods  in  the  Orient,  according  to  a  business 
man  of  Manila  who  is  well  posted  on  the  commercial  outlook  in  that  part 
of  the  world.  With  rich  iron  deposits  and  coal  equal  to  the  best  on 
Puget  Sound,  both  widely  distributed  throughout  the  islands,  and  copper 
in  the  northern  highlands  of  the  archipelago,  the  exploitation  of  these 
resources  will  meet  many  industrial  needs. 

"The  Philippines  are  among  the  most  progressive  countries  in  the 
Orient  and  the  question  of  skilled  labor  can  be  easily  solved,"  says  our 
Manila  informant.  "Those  American  manufactured  products  which 
would  not  stand  Japanese  competition  might  as  well  be  made  by  American 
plants  built  in  the  Philippines.  With  labor  as  cheap  as  in  Japan  and  raw 
materials  accessible,  the  wisdom  of  erecting  branch  factories  in  our 
islands  is  self-evident.  We  would  then  be  in  a  position  to  enjoy  a  reason- 
able share  of  Far-Eastern  trade."  .  .  . 

"Lying  at  the  front  gate  of  Asia,  the  Japanese  will  naturally  use  this 
advantage,"  remarks  the  Philippine  merchant.  "Add  to  this  the  cheap- 
ness of  their  labor  and  their  rapidly  growing  number  of  skilled  workmen 
and  it  is  apparent  that  the  United  States  cannot  compete  with  them  in 
many  lines  which  they  manufacture.    This  weakness  in  our  commercial 


AMERICAN   CONTROL   OF   PHlL;]0?'Fl^TlJS?r :    .loi 

position  in  the  Orient  may  be  developed  into  an  invulnerable  strength. 
The  Philippines  offer  the  key  to  our  problems." — Scientific  American, 
December  7,  19 18. 

Getting  Out  of  the  Philippines 

Philippine  independence  has  been  pledged  by  our  Congress,  and 
liberal  opinion  in  Europe  or  in  Asia  desires  neither  to  kick  us.  out  of 
the  Philippines  nor  to  keep  us  there  against  our  will.  But  we  can  not 
get  out  of  the  Philippines,  hastily  or  heedlessly,  without  endangering  the 
entire  Far-Eastern  situation ;  and  we  can  not  base  upon  a  "scuttle"  Philip- 
pine policy  a  general  Far-Eastern  policy  that  will  be  sustained  by  any  of 
our  Allies.  This  is  a  fact.  I  have  discussed  this  matter  with  men  in  a 
position  to  talk  authoritatively  for  Europe  and  Asia,  and  I  have  discussed 
it  as  one  on  record  for  many  years  for  real  Philippine  independence.  The 
reason  why  it  is  not  feasible  to  turn  the  Philippines  adrift  at  this  moment 
is  because  that  can  not  be  done  without  setting  up  reactions  all  the  way 
from  Calcutta  to  Chemulpo,  from  Siningfu  to  Sandaken.  We  do  not 
encourage,  or  justify,  Japanese  or  British  occupation  when  we  multiply 
their  difficulties  in  India,  in  Ireland,  or  in  Korea. — Patrick  Gallagher, 
Asia,  September,  1919,  p.  897. 

If  conditions  arise  whereby  other  nations,  in  comparison  with 
America,  give  people  better  advantages  and  opportunities  under  the 
changing  circumstances  of  civilization  and  economic  evolution,  and 
better  facilities  to  work,  and  better  protection  for  their  lives  and  property, 
then  the  tide  will  turn,  and  gradually  people  will  drift  away  from  America 
in  their  political  allegiance,  toward  those  better  advantages  and  facilities 
and  protection.  It  is  not  from  accident  or  preference  that  many  Ameri- 
cans now  do  business  in  China,  and  in  other  countries,  as  British  and 
other  foreign  corporations.  If  the  proposal  to  abandon  the  Philippines 
without  making  any  provision  for  their  stability  and  security  is  carried 
out,  there  will  be  some  interesting  manifestations  of  this  principle.  I 
never  have  met  a  superior  type  of  business  man  or  investor  in  the 
Philippines  who  has  any  faith  in  the  ability  of  the  Filipinos  to  conduct 
a  stable  government  now,  and  to  preserve  their  nationality  without 
foreign  aid.  If  United  States  authority  and  protection  are  withdrawn 
from  the  islands,  the  principal  American  interests  and  property  there 
will  be  driven  to  seek  protection,  and  the  greater  part  of  them  probably; 
will  get  under  the  British  flag  as  soon  as  they  can;  and  many  Filipino- 
owned  interests  will  do  the  same  thing. — ^Thomas  F.  Millard;  "Our 
Eastern  Question,"  pp.  384,  385. 

The  Filipinos  Not  Ready  to  Govern  Themselves 

I  am  firmly  convinced  that  the  Filipinos  arc  where  they  are  today 


io2.\t:4MfeRICA'S:  STAKE  IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

only  because  they  have  been  pushed  into  line,  and  that  if  outside  pressure 
were  relaxed  they  would  steadily  and  rapidly  deteriorate. 

It  is  not  necessary  that  there  should  be  much  retrogression  to  cause 
serious  trouble.  I  have  discussed  the  character  and  attitude  of  the  pres- 
ent Filipino  legislative  body.  I  have  shown  indubitably  what  sort  of  a 
government  the  Filipinos  themselves  established  while  they  had  a  free 
hand.  I  agree  absolutely  with  Blout's  contention  that  they  would  again 
establish  precisely  the  same  sort  of  a  government  if  left  to  their  own 
devices.  There  would  follow  first,  aggression  against  the  property  of 
foreigners,  and  then  attacks  upon  their  persons,  which  would  not  only 
excuse,  but  would  necessitate,  intervention  by  other  governments  to 
protect  their  citizens.  Some  of  the  more  intelligent  Filipino  leaders 
would  set  their  faces  against  such  conduct  as  firmly  as  they  did  during 
the  rule  of  the  so-called  insurgent  government,  but  now,  as  then,  would 
be  powerless  to  restrain  either  the  more  unprincipled  among  the  in- 
telligent, or  the  great  body  of  the  ignorant  rank  and  file,  and  nothing 
more  than  a  fairly  plausible  excuse  would  be  needed  to  start  the  ball  of 
foreign  intervention  rolling. 

Many  Americans  may,  in  their  present  deep  ignorance  of  the  value 
of  their  most  recently  acquired  possessions,  agree  with  that  distinguished 
representative  who  announced  on  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives that  the  Philippines  were  "a  lemon,"  but  agents  and  spies  of  Japan 
have  worked  thro'ughout  the  entire  archipelago  and  she  knows  better. 
England  and  Germany  have  had  their  business  men  in  the  islands  for 
many  years,  and  they  know  better  also. 

The  Filipinos  are  not  yet  fit  to  govern  themselves,  much  less  to 
govern  the  Moros  and  other  non-Christian  tribes,  even  if  let  alone,  and 
they  would  not  be  let  alone  should  we  turn  their  country  over  to  them. 

Philippine  independence  is  not  a  present  possibility,  nor  will  it  be 
possible  for  at  least  two  generations.  Indeed,  if  by  the  end  of  a  century 
we  have  welded  into  a  people  the  descendants  of  the  composite  and 
complex  group  of  human  beings  who  today  inhabit  the  islands,  we  shall 
have  no  cause  to  feel  ashamed  of  our  success.  .  .  . 

We  are  giving  the  Filipinos  a  fair  chance  to  develop  every  latent 
ability  which  they  possess.  In  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  their  future 
lies,  and  must  lie,  wholly  with  them.  There  is  no  royal  road  to  real 
independence,  much  less  is  there  any  short  cut.  Our  Filipino  wards  must 
tread  the  same  long,  weary  path  that  has  been  trodden  by  every  nation 
that  has  heretofore  attained  to  good  government.  .  .  . 

After  all  is  said  and  done,  the  real  Philippine  question  is  not  what 
path  they  shall  take.  ...  It  is  not  whether  they  shall  travel  the  old, 
old  road  a  little  faster,  or  a  little  more  slowly.  That  will  ultimately  be 
settled,  for  them  and  for  us,  by  the  unanswerable  logic  of  events,  and 
we  need  not  worry  over  it.  The  real  question  is,  shall  they  make  their 
long  and  adventurous  journey,  guided,  helped,  and  protected  by  the  strong 


AMERICAN   CONTROL   OF   PHILIPPINES?        103 

and  kindly  hand  of  the  United  States  of  America,  or  shall  they  be  left 
to  stagger  along  alone,  blind  in  their  own  conceit,  under  the  keen  and 
watchful  eye  of  another  powerful  nation,  hungrily  awaiting  their  first 
misstep? — Dean  C.  Worcester,  "The  Philippines  Past  and  Present,"  pp. 
959,  960,  971,  973- 

Philippine  Independence  from  the  Point  of  View  of  the  Fil- 
ipinos 

Now  that  the  war  is  at  an  end,  we  feel  that  the  time  has  arrived 
when  the  Philippine  question  should  be  settled  by  the  Government  of  the 
United  States.  During  the  last  three  years  the  people  of  the  Philippines 
have  not  discussed  the  question  of  independence.  That  has  made  some 
people  feel  that  the  Filipinos  are  satisfied  with  their  government  and  do 
not  want  any  change.  That  is  a  mistake.  The  people  of  the  Philip- 
pines have  ceased  discussing  the  question  of  independence  for  several 
reasons.  One  is  that  the  Jones  Law  emphasizes  the  promise  that  the 
independence  of  the  Philippines  shall  be  granted  whenever  stable  govern- 
ment shall  have  been  established.  When  that  law  was  enacted,  the 
Filipinos  felt  that  it  was  time  for  them  to  do  things  and  not  to  talk. 
Therefore,  they  proceeded  to  enact  those  measures  which  are  the  basis 
of  the  present  stable  government  of  the  Filipino  people.  They  put  into 
effect  the  measures  which  were  needed  to  secure  the  stable  government 
upon  which  our  independence  was  to  be  based.  Another  reason  for  not 
discussing  independence  was  that  the  people  felt  that  they  should  do 
nothing  and  say  nothing  which  might  embarrass  the  United  States  during 
the  war.  The  Filipino  people  are  happy  today.  They  are  happier  than 
ever  before  in  the  history  of  the  country.  They  are  contented  and  are 
accomplishing  much.  But  that  they  are  happy  does  not  mean  that  they 
would  rather  live  under  the  present  form  of  government. — Manuel  L. 
Quezon,  President  of  the  Philippine  Senate,  Asia,  May,  1919,  p.  428. 

The  Filipino  people  would  not  be  just  to  themselves  if,  at  this 
moment  when  their  political  separation  from  the  sovereign  country  is 
proposed,  they  should  fail  to  express  in  the  clearest  and  most  definite 
manner  the  sentiments  and  purposes  that  inspire  their  action.  They 
therefore  deem  it  their  duty  to  affirm :  That  their  independence,  instead  of 
destroying  or  weakening,  will  tend  to  strengthen  the  bonds  of  friendship 
and  appreciation  created  by  the  gratitude  of  the  Filipino  people,  not  only 
for  the  final  measure  of  complete  justice  and  humanity  that  they  confi- 
dently expect,  but  for  all  the  previous  disinterested  work  so  splendidly 
performed  for  the  benefit  of  the  Philippines  by  so  many  faithful  sons  of 
America;  that  this  gratitude  will  be  the  first  fundamental  fact  in  the 
future  relations  between  the  United  States  and  the  Philippine  Islands; 
that  in  the  present  state  of  the  international  affairs  the  Filipino  people 
merely  aspire  to  become  another  conscious  and  direct  instrument  for  the 


I04  AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

progress  of  liberty  and  civilization;  that  in  the  tranquil  course  of  their 
years  of  constitutional  development  they  will  maintain  for  all  people  in- 
habiting their  hospitable  land  the  essence  and  benefit  of  democratic 
institutions;  that  they  will  continue  to  associate,  in  so  far  as  this  will  be 
acceptable  and  their  strength  will  permit,  in  the  work  of  reconstruction, 
justice,  and  peace  carried  on  by  the  United  States  in  continuation  of 
those  other  undertakings,  the  high  purpose  of  which  was  the  cause,  ac- 
cording to  President  Wilson,  of  the  magnificent  cooperation  during  the 
war ;  and,  finally,  that  in  thus  preserving  their  best  traditions  and  institu- 
tions in  the  new  situation  which  will  strengthen  and  perfect  them,  the 
Filipino  people  will  continue  to  make  this  country  as  heretofore  a  safe 
place  of  law  and  order,  justice  and  liberty,  where  Americans  and 
foreigners  as  well  as  Nationals  may  live  peacefully  in  the  pursuit  of 
happiness  and  prosperity  and  safe  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  property  as 
well  as  of  their  rights  and  their  liberty. — Declaration  of  the  Independence 
Philippine  Commission.  Quoted  by  Maximo  M.  Kalaw,  "Self-Govern- 
ment in  the  Philippines,"  pp.  158,  159. 

Japanese  Strategy  and  the  Philippines 

If  Japan  has  felt  it  necessary  to  drive  the  Germans  from  Shantung 
and  the  islands  of  the  Pacific  in  order  to  remove  a  menace  to  her  own 
security  and  to  insure  the  peace  of  the  Far  East,  may  she  not  feel  that 
she  must  drive  the  Americans  from  the  Philippines  to  the  same  end? 

Must  not  the  American  possession  of  the  Philippines  be  a  menace  in 
the  eyes  of  Japanese  strategists  to  the  security  of  Japan  and  Japan's 
policies?  Are  not  the  Philippines  the  vulnerable  spot  at  which  the  Jap- 
anese can  strike  the  United  States,  either  tentatively — in  diplomacy — 
or  actually — with  armed  force?  It  matters  not  whether  the  Japanese 
"want"  the  Philippines.  The  United  States  did  not  want  them — but  we 
took  them.  We  did  not  need  them,  but  we  have  them.  If  Japan  feels 
that  our  possession  of  them  is  a  menace  to  her,  she  will  wish  that  menace 
removed.  Should  she  conclude  to  strike  us,  she  would  as  a  matter  of 
course  seize  them,  and  then  it  would  be  the  unpleasant  and  difficult  task 
of  the  United  States  to  fight  on  the  offensive  for  their  recovery.  It  may 
or  may  not  be  true  that  we  do  not  want  the  Philippines,  or  that  we  would 
profit  by  being  rid  of  them ;  we  would,  nevertheless,  resent  and  resist  any 
effort  to  take  them  away  from  us. — Stanley  K.  Hornbeck,  "Contemporary 
Politics  in  the  Far  East,"  p.  376. 

The  Philippines  are  fast  assuming  a  position  relative  to  the  Jap- 
anese Islands,  similar  to  that  occupied  by  Korea  before  the  Russo-Jap- 
anese war. 

Japan's  industries  claim  the  markets  of  the  Far  East  as  peculiarly 
their  own.  They  cannot,  and  most  likely  will  not,  even  in  the  future,  be 
able  to  compete  with  English  and  American  or  German  merchandise 


AMERICAN   CONTROL   OF   PHILIPPINES?        105 

under  a  regime  of  the  open  door — ergo,  the  advisability  of  closing  the 
door. 

The  Philippines — to  a  country,  master  of  sufficient  land  and  sea 
power  to  profit  fully  by  the  advantages  they  bestow — is  the  position  from 
which  the  "open  door"  policy  can  be  enforced.  .  .  . 

The  Philippines  are,  in  foreign  hands,  a  menace  to  the  Japanese 
doctrine  of  exclusion  in  the  Far  East,  but  their  possession  with  Hawaii 
would  make  Japan  invulnerable  against  attack,  on  condition  always  that 
her  militant  forces  were  such  as  to  be  able  to  use  those  positions. 

The  adjustment  of  these  divergent  interests  is  destined  to  test  to  the 
uttermost  the  relative  forces,  militant  and  diplomatic,  of  the  powers  on 
the  opposed  sides  of  the  Pacific  Ocean. — Prince  Lazarovich  Hrebeliano- 
vich,  "The  Orient  Question,"  pp.  247,  248. 

No  great  national  gain  can  accrue  to  Japan  through  the  subjugation 
of  the  Philippines.  The  complete  possession  of  the  islands  would 
scarcely  compensate  Japan  for  the  probable  cost  of  such  a  procedure.  It 
is  still  an  open  question  whether  the  Japanese  can  successfully  settle  in 
the  tropics.  The  exceptional  opportunities  of  Davao  are  at  present  draw- 
ing Japanese  to  that  place,  but  even  there  Japanese  immigration  is  still 
in  an  experimental  stage.  It  is  entirely  uncertain  whether  Japanese 
laborers  can  thrive  in  the  other  parts  of  the  islands.  Many  Japanese  be- 
lieve that  with  Korea,  Manchuria,  and  Formosa,  Japan  is  sufficiently 
occupied  with  territorial  dominions,  and  that  in  the  long  run  it  would  be 
more  advantageous  for  her  to  adopt  a  policy  of  righteousness  and  fair 
dealing  with  all  nations  than  to  seek  new  fields  of  conquest.  An  assur- 
ance to  that  effect  would  greatly  strengthen  her  friendship  with  the  Allies 
and,  consequently,  her  own  credit  abroad.  .  .  . 

Granting  then — at  least  for  the  sake  of  argument — that  Japan  does 
not  endeavor  to  colonize  the  Philippines,  what  are  the  principles  upon 
which  sound  and  friendly  Filipino-Japanese  relations  can  be  built  ?  Japan 
will  surely  find  the  Philippine  Republic  a  friendly  neighbor  and  sister. 
The  Filipinos  themselves  have  nothing  but  admiration  and  good  wishes 
for  an  Asiatic  people  who,  by  their  own  strength,  have  won  the  recogni- 
tion of  a  hitherto  doubting  world  and  have  carved  their  proud  name  in  the 
council-chamber  of  the  great  nations.  The  Philippines  are  asking  only 
for  an  opportunity  for  free  and  unhampered  development  of  their  people 
and  natural  resources,  so  that  they  can  in  their  humble  way  contribute  to 
the  civilization  and  progress  of  mankind.  Is  it  not  clear  that  both  the 
Japanese  and  Filipino  nations  can  work  in  harmony  toward  the  further- 
ance of  their  common  interests? — ^Maximo  M.  Kalaw,  Asia,  1919,  pp. 
430,431. 

A  Japanese  Point  o£  View 

The  Japanese  know  the  Philippine  situation  too  well  to  fancy  even 


io6         AMERICA'S   STAKE   IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

for  a  moment  that  the  islands  can  be  had  for  the  asking.  They  know 
that  an  attempt  to  acquire  the  territory  will  cause  endless  trouble  and 
countless  expenditure,  for  the  Filipinos,  who  have  been  opposing  Ameri- 
can rule,  will  more  strenuously  oppose  Japanese  rule.  Certainly  the  Jap- 
anese are  not  foolish  enough  to  think  that  such  a  game  is  worth  the 
candle.  .  .  .  Cold  calculation  convinces  us  that  it  would  be  far  more 
profitable  for  the  Japanese  not  to  tamper  with  the  territorial  autonomy  of 
the  Philippines,  but  to  confine  their  activities  there  to  the  exploitation  of 
resources  and  the  development  of  trade,  with  the  cooperation  of  the 
natives. 

The  idea  of  converting  the  territory  into  an  integral  part  of  the 
Japanese  Empire  .  .  .  seems  highly  impractical.  But  if  Japan  were  ever 
to  acquire  the  Philippines,  the  acquisition  would  be  made  only  under  one 
of  two  conditions.  First,  she  would  not  decline  to  become  the  mistress  of 
the  country  if  the  Filipinos  would  willingly  place  themselves  under  the 
rule  of  the  Mikado.  Business  sense  forbids  Japan  to  fight  for  the  absorp- 
tion of  the  islands  at  any  considerable  cost  of  blood  and  money. 
Secondly,  Japan  might  be  compelled  to  annex  the  country,  even  against 
her  will,  if  its  internal  conditions  after  the  withdrawal  of  American 
authority  were  such  as  to  invite  the  aggression  of  ambitious  European 
powers. — Kiyoshi  K.  Kawakami,  "J^P^^  i"  World  Politics,"  pp.  211-216. 

The  Philippines  as  an  Outlet  for  China's  Overpopulation 

Assuming  that  the  neutrality  of  the  Philippines  could  be  secured  and 
that  the  islands  would  be  forever  free  from  the  danger  of  foreign  aggres- 
sion, that  would  not  solve  the  immigration  problem  which  the  independent 
Philippines  would  have  to  face.  Six  hundred  miles  north  of  Manila, 
connected  by  many  steamship  lines,  is  the  port  of  Hong  Kong  and  nearby 
the  crowded  city  of  Canton  and  the  overpopulated  provinces  of  Kwang- 
tung  and  Fukien.  Here,  within  easy  distance  of  the  Philippines,  is  a 
population  of  hard-working  Chinese  almost  equal  to  the  population  of 
the  United  States.  Kwangtung  province,  with  an  area  less  than  that  of 
the  Philippines  and  with  natural  resources  much  smaller,  has  a  population 
of  31,000,000.  These  southern  Chinese  have  developed  to  the  utter- 
most the  agricultural  resources  of  their  own  country.  To  them  the  large 
undeveloped  regions  of  the  Philippines  have  been  the  promised  land  for 
centuries.  They  were  kept  out  by  the  Spanish  authorities  and  later  were 
kept  out  by  the  Americans.  It  is  inconceivable  that  with  their  newly 
awakened  pride  of  race,  the  giant  China  would  allow  the  puny  Philippine 
Republic  to  bar  or  restrict  the  Chinese  by  either  treaty  or  law.  The 
independence  of  the  Philippines  would  be  the  signal  for  the  entrance  of 
a  stream  of  Chinese  immigrants.  The  island  could  easily  support  a 
population  of  50,000,000  Chinese,  who  would  make  it  one  of  the  garden 
spots  of  the  world  and  the  most  prosperous  place  in  the  tropics. 


AMERICAN    CONTROL   OF   PHILIPPINES?        107 

Perhaps  not  so  many  would  come.  But  certainly  the  immigration 
of  Chinese  to  the  Philippines,  following  their  unrestricted  entry,  would 
be  numbered  by  the  hundreds  of  thousands.  With  the  Filipinos  crowded 
from  business  and  from  the  most  profitable  trades  by  the  50,000  Chinese 
now  in  the  islands,  what  would  become  of  them  with  from  500,000  to 
3,000,000  there?  Neutrality  agreements  might  prevent  other  nations 
from  seizing  the  territory  of  the  Philippines,  but  no  agreement  and  no  law 
the  Philippine  Government  would  be  able  to  enforce  would  ever  protect 
the  Filipinos  from  this  industrial  invasion.  Chinese  would  be  dominant 
industrially  in  the  Philippines  within  a  decade  after  the  granting  of 
independence. — Carl  Crow,  "America  and  the  PhiUppines,"  pp.  276-278. 

The  Filipinos  and  the  Non-Christian  Tribes 

The  Filipinos  dislike  and  despise  the  non-Christians.  They  take 
advantage  of  their  ignorance  and  helplessness  to  rob  or  cheat  them  of 
the  fruits  of  their  labor,  and  often  hold  them  as  slaves  or  peons.  The 
non-Christians  in  turn  hate  them,  and  the  more  warlike  wild  tribes  do 
not  hesitate  to  take  vengeance  on  them  when  opportunity  offers.  The 
Filipinos  as  a  whole  are  afraid  of  the  Moros,  and  with  good  reason. 
The  Moros  frankly  assert  that  if  a  Filipino  government  were  established, 
they  would  resume  their  long-abandoned  conquest  of  the  archipelago, 
and  this  they  would  certainly  do.  Although  the  non-Christians  are 
numerically  few,  as  compared  with  the  Christians,  they  are  potentially 
important  because  they  have  the  power  to  make  an  amount  of  trouble 
wholly  disproportionate  to  their  numbers.  The  Filipinos  could  not  rule 
them  successfully,  and  the  probable  outcome  of  any  attempt  on  their 
part  to  control  them  would  be  the  inauguration  of  a  policy  of  extermina- 
tion similar  to  that  which  Japan  is  following  with  certain  of  the  hill 
men  of  Formosa.  Because  of  the  inaccessible  nature  of  the  country 
inhabited  by  many  of  the  Philippine  wild  tribes,  they  would  be  able  to 
hold  their  own  for  many  years,  and  there  would  result  a  condition 
similar  to  that  which  has  prevailed  for  so  long  in  Achin,  while  the 
Moros,  with  their  ability  to  take  to  the  sea  and  suddenly  strike  unpro- 
tected places,  would  cause  endless  suffering  and  loss  of  life. — Dean  C. 
Worcester,  "The  Philippines  Past  and  Present,"  pp.  951,  952. 


CHAPTER  X 

HOW  FAR  DOES  THE  NUMERICAL  STRENGTH 

OF  THE  YELLOW  RAGE  CONSTITUTE  A 

PROBLEM  IN  THE  PACIFIC  BASIN? 

I.  What  is  the  population  o£  the  Far  East?  How  does  it 
compare  in  the  aggregate  with  the  population  of  the 
United  States?  How  does  it  compare  with  that  of 
the  United  States  in  density? 

XL  Compare  the  two  sections  of  the  world  as  to  increase  of 
population,  wages,  standards  of  living,  possibility  of  en- 
listment of  industrial  workers,  potential  military 
strength. 

1.  What  aspects  of  danger,  if  any,  to  the  future  of  the  United 
States  do  you  see  in  the  present  and  the  probable  future  numer- 
ical strength  of  the  nations  of  the  Far  East? 

2.  Of  what  race  in  the  Far  East  do  you  feel  America  might  have 
most  to  fear  in  the  future  from  the  military  point  of  view? 
From  the  point  of  view  of  commercial  and  industrial  competi- 
tion?   From  that  of  land  hunger?    Why? 

III.  What  advantage  should  America  take  of  the  supply  of 

cheap  labor  in  the  Far  East? 

1.  Would  you  like  to  see  American  manufacturers  start  factories 
in  the  Far  East  in  order  to  get  the  advantage  of  such  labor? 
Why,  or  why  not  ? 

2.  How  far  would  you  favor  the  reduction  of  the  high  cost  of 
living  in  America  by  the  extensive  importation  of  goods  made 
by  cheap  labor  in  the  Orient  ? 

3.  In  case  of  continued  labor  shortage  in  the  United  States, 
would  you  or  would  you  not  favor  the  admittance  of  a  limited 
number  of  Oriental  laborers  to  the  United  States  ?  If  so,  would 
you  wish  to  admit  enough  really  to  make  labor  plentiful  and 
cheap?    If  not,  why  not? 

IV.  How  can  this  v^st  population  of  the  Far  East  best  help 

the  world? 

I.     Given  a  great  and  growing  population  in  the  Far  East,  in  what 

108 


NUMERICAL  STRENGTH  OF  YELLOW  RACE      109 

ways  do  you  feel  it  could  best  be  used  to  help  the  world,  includ- 
ing of  course,  Eastern  Asia? 

2.  How  much  loss  at  present  to  the  world  does  their  lower 
standard  of  efficiency  and  production  seem  to  you  to  represent? 

3.  Just  how  far  should  America  concern  herself  with  the  stan- 
dard of  living  of  the  peoples  of  the  Far  East?     In  discussing 

,  this  take  into  consideration : 

a.  Their  ability  to  buy  from  us. 

b.  Their  ability  to  sell  to  us. 

c.  Their  ability  to  produce  for  the  world. 

d.  Their  possible  competition  in  world  markets  because  of 
cheap  labor. 

e.  Their  desire  to  emigrate. 

f.  Their  possible  tendencies  toward  unrest  and  revolution 
growing  out  of  basal  economic  need,  and  the  probable  inter- 
national effects  of  such  unrest. 

g.  Our  duty  to  maintain  an  altruistic  interest  in  the  welfare 
of  other  peoples. 

V.    What  can  be  done  towards  a  solution  of  this  problem  of 
population? 

1.  In  what  ways  does  the  introduction  of  modern  inventions  and 
improvements  help  and  in  what  ways  hinder  such  a  solution? 
How  do  the  introduction  of  railroads  and  the  extension  of 
trade  affect  it  ? 

2.  Would  you  like  to  have  the  nations  of  the  Far  East  fully 
instructed  in  modern  science,  including  medicine  and  sanitation, 
chemistry,  and  the  manufacture  of  explosives  ? 

a.  If  so,  why?  How  would  you  go  to  work  to  prevent  an 
ultimate  destructive  use  of  science  by  the  yellow  race  against 
the  white  race  ? 

b.  If  not,  why  not?  Just  how  would  you  go  to  work  to  pre- 
vent the  spread  of  scientific  knowledge  in  the  Far  East  ? 

3.  In  just  what  ways  can  missionary  work  affect  the  economic 
development  and  the  standards  of  life  of  these  peoples? 

REFERENCE  MATERIAL 

Overpopulation  in  Japan 

The  Empire  of  Japan  is  composed  of  several  thousand  islands,  only 
five  of  which  are  as  large  as  the  State  of  Connecticut,  the  others  being  so 


no  AMERICA'S   STAKE   IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

small  that  none  of  them  is  of  any  importance  and  hundreds  are  not 
inhabited.  .  .  .  The  entire  area  of  the  Empire  is  only  600  square  miles 
greater  than  the  area  of  California.  .  .  . 

However,  while  the  area  of  this  small  kingdom  is  about  the  same 
as  that  of  California,  the  extent  of  its  fields  is  much  less.  In  California 
one-third  of  the  total  area  is  under  cultivation,  while  in  Japan  the  culti- 
vated area  is  only  one-eighth.  .  .  .  Mountainous  Switzerland  contains  six 
times  the  proportion  of  agricultural  land  that  is  to  be  found  in  Japan, 
where  the  fields  under  cultivation  cover  but  20,000  square  miles.  That 
is  the  area  from  which  the  present  population  of  60,000,000  is  fed,  except 
as  they  are  able  to  purchase  food  from  other  countries  and  supplement 
the  produce  of  the  farms  with  fish  and  seaweed  from  the  neighboring 
waters.  ... 

It  has  often  been  pointed  out  that  the  population  of  Japan  is  not  so 
dense  as  in  Belgium  or  England.  But  Belgium  and  England  are  almost 
wholly  arable;  Japan  is  almost  wholly  mountainous.  If  we  eliminate 
from  the  figures  of  area  the  unproductive  lands  of  each  country,  the 
population  per  square  mile  works  out,  approximately:  England,  466; 
Belgium,  702;  Japan,  2,688.  A  population  of  2,688  on  every  square 
mile  of  arable  land — less  than  a  quarter  of  an  acre  of  land  for  each, 
person!  There  is  more  good  farm  land  in  mountainous  Kentucky  than 
in  all  Japan.  .  .  .  While  we  in  America  have  the  most  liberal  allowance 
of  land  on  which  to  raise  our  food  and  the  food  of  others,  Japan  has 
the  most  meager  allowance.  Japan  might  exist  in  luxury  on  the  unculti- 
vated fence  corners  of  America. — Carl  Crow,  "J^P^^  ^^^  America," 
pp.  8-19. 

Japan  has  a  population  nearly  double  that  of  the  whole  United  States 
west  of  the  Mississippi.  .  .  .  Although  she  has  a  vast  urban  population, 
she  manages  by  her  intensive  agriculture  to  raise  nearly  all  her  own 
food,  while  England  similarly  situated  imports  half  to  three-fourths  of 
her  own.  .  .  .  Despite  the  amazing  frugality  and  admirable  simplicity  of 
Japanese  life,  Japan  suffers  acutely  from  congestion  of  population.  Yet 
that  population  is  on  the  increase,  and  the  efforts  of  a  solicitous  govern- 
ment have  thus  far  not  availed  to  check  the  increase.  Here  is  the  first 
and  most  fundamental  problem  of  the  Japanese  people.  There  are  too 
many  for  their  little  land,  and  place  and  food  must  be  found  for  the 
growing  surplus. 

Overpopulation  is  one  of  the  most  serious  dangers  that  ever  con- 
fronts a  nation.  People  do  not  know  what  is  the  matter.  They  are 
conscious  of  a  vague  malaise  which  expresses  itself  in  many  different 
forms  and  lends  itself  to  the  most  diverse  interpretations.  Lack  of  em- 
ployment, low  wages,  high  cost  of  living,  and  burdensome  taxes — neces- 
sary concomitants  of  overpopulation — are  charged  to  the  iniquities  of  the 
industrial  order,  the  rapacity  of  dealers,  and  the  corruption  of  govern- 


NUMERICAL  STRENGTH  OF  YELLOW  RACE       iii 

ment.  No  social  order  is  perfect  enough  wholly  to  refute  such  charges,  or 
strong  enough  to  ignore  them.  All  disturbing  and  disruptive  forces  are 
accentuated  by  this  most  fundamental  of  maladies.  Relief  in  some  form 
is  a  condition  of  national  tranquillity  if  not  of  national  existence. — Harry 
H.  Powers,  "America  among  the  Nations,"  pp.  213,  214. 

China's  Multitudinous  Millions 

China  has  a  problem  of  increasing  population,  which  hitherto,  has 
been  largely  regulated  during  the  centuries  by  constantly  recurring 
famines,  pestilences,  and  revolts,  but  with  the  adoption  of  sanitary  and 
hygienic  conditions  resulting  in  the  conservation  of  human  lives,  coupled 
with  the  introduction  of  labor-saving  devices,  this  question  must  become 
formidable;  such  conditions,  yielding  overwhelming  tides  of  human 
material  for  industrial  slavery,  must  affect  the  economic  destinies  of  other 
countries. — Prince  Lazarovich  Hrebelianovich,  "The  Orient  Question," 
p.  208. 

No  one  knows  just  how  many  Chinese  there  are,  but  the  number  is 
probably  not  much  less  than  300,000,000  and  it  may  be  more.  Careful 
estimates  seem  to  indicate  that  in  spite  of  famine,  pestilence,  and  civil 
strife,  it  has  not  declined  in  the  past  hundred  and  fifty  years.  During  the 
earlier  more  prosperous  years  of  the  Manchu  dynasty  it  rapidly  increased. 
Hand  in  hand  with  the  practically  universal  ancestor  worship  has  gone 
the  conviction  that  there  is  no  greater  crime  than  to  die  without  leaving 
male  posterity  to  carry  on  the  sacrifices  at  the  graves  of  one's  forbears. 
Marriage  is  early,  usually  before  the  bride  and  groom  are  twenty.  Con- 
cubinage is  common  among  the  well-to-do,  and  for  women  respectability 
and  marriage  are  practically  synonymous.  Under  such  conditions,  if 
famine,  pestilence,  and  civil  war  are  once  eliminated  or  considerably  re- 
duced, population  will  multiply  rapidly.  Extensive  civil  war  is  not  per- 
mitted by  the  powers ;  famine  is  being  fought  by  Chinese  and  foreigners 
with  all  the  zeal  and  skill  of  a  humanitarian  and  scientific  age ;  disease  is 
being  reduced  and  will  be  reduced  much  further  by  modern  medical 
science;  voluntary  restraint  of  the  birth  rate  can  come  only  slowly.  A 
rapid  advance  in  population  would  seem  to  be  inevitable.  Eventually 
modern  methods  of  agriculture,  reclamation  projects,  improved  methods 
of  industry,  transportation,  and  commerce  will  provide  added  food  and 
wealth,  but  these  will  come  slowly.  The  immediate  future  would  seem 
to  have  in  store  increased  poverty  and  unrest  for  the  masses  of  the 
nation.  China  cannot  find  in  unrestricted  emigration  a  relief  for  the 
congestion.  In  Manchuria  and  Mongolia,  it  is  true,  there  are  great  unoc- 
cupied fertile  areas,  and  in  many  parts  of  China  there  is  wild  land  that 
can  be  reclaimed.  But  the  white  race  has  preempted  most  of  the  vacant 
districts  of  the  world  and  has  forbidden  other  races  to  trespass. 
Australia,  the  United  States,  and  Canada  all  have  strict  exclusion  acts 


112  AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

directed  against  the  Chinese.  They  are  not  permitted  to  share  with  their 
white  brothers  the  virgin  lands  of  the  temperate  zones. — Kenneth  S. 
Latourette,  "The  Development  of  China,"  pp.  243,  244. 

The  Struggle  for  Food  Supply 

Of  the  three  great  nuclei  of  population  in  the  world,  Eastern 
Asia,  Southern  Asia,  and  Western  (and  Central)  Europe,  only  one  has 
been  able  to  draw  upon  the  surplus  food  of  the  world.  Eight  hundred 
million  Asiatics  have  been  forced  to  live  on  their  own  meager  home 
resources.  As  China  begins  to  export  coal,  iron,  textiles,  and  other 
manufactured  products,  however,  she  will  be  able,  whether  politically 
independent  or  not,  to  compete  with  Europe  for  the  purchase  of  this 
food  supply.  Not  only  will  China's  population  probably  increase  with 
the  advent  of  industrialism,  but  the  standard  of  living  of  her  population 
will  rise,  and  her  competition  with  Europe  for  the  sale  of  manufactured 
products  and  the  purchase  of  food  will  become  intense.  The  cheap, 
patient,  disciplined  labor  of  China's  hundreds  of  millions  will  be  fighting 
with  the  Belgian,  the  German,  and  the  Italian  wage-earners  to  secure  the 
food  which  it  will  be  necessary  to  import. 

It  is  not  a  yellow,  but  a  human  peril :  a  mere  addition  to  the  hungry 
mouths  that  are  to  be  fed.  The  supply  of  exportable  food  that  can  be 
raised  in  the  world  has  of  course  not  reached  its  maximum,  but  beyond 
a  certain  point  every  increase  in  agricultural  production  means  a  more 
than  proportional  increase  in  the  cost  of  the  product.  To  feed  800,000,000 
costs  much  more  than  twice  as  much  as  to  feed  400,000,000.  Even 
though  China  secure  only  a  minor  part  of  the  exportable  food,  it  will  by 
just  so  much  increase  the  strain  upon  the  industrial  populations  of 
Europe. 

It  is  a  crisis  for  European  industrialism,  a  slowly  preparing  crisis 
with  infinitely  tragic  possibilities.  What  it  involves  is  not  a  mere  redis- 
tribution of  wealth  and  income,  but  an  adjustment  of  populations  to  the 
available  home  and  foreign  resources  in  food. — Walter  E.  Weyl,  "Ameri- 
can World  Policies,"  pp.  286,  1897. 

Choked  and  Smothered  Peoples 

When  the  masses  of  the  East,  crowded  out  of  their  own  countries, 
seek  breathing  room  in  the  yet  undeveloped  countries  of  the  West,  the 
West  is  ready  to  expel  them  even  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  Try  how- 
ever hard  you  may,  you  cannot  escape  the  logical  conclusion  which  must 
inevitably  be  drawn  from  the  existing  state  of  relations  between  the  East 
and  West.  One  of  two  things  must  eventually  be  done — either  the 
freedom  of  migration  of  all  peoples  from  one  country  to  another  must  be 
recognized,  or  the  great  colonial  powers,  holding  vast  territories,  rich 
with  resources  yet  sparsely  populated,  must  give  up  some  of  their  holdings 


NUMERICAL  STRENGTH  OF  YELLOW  RACE      113 

in  favor  of  land-hungry  peoples,  choked  and  smothered  in  their  native 
countries.  Without  dispelling  the  potential  cause  of  conflict,  it  is  futile 
to  speak  of  disarmament  or  permanent  peace.  The  dove  of  peace  builds 
its  nest  only  in  the  haunts  of  justice. 

If  the  East  still  silently  acquiesces  in  the  present  order  of  things,  it 
is  simply  because  the  East  is  powerless  to  assert  its  rights.  Most  of  us 
hesitate  to  look  this  question  squarely  in  the  face,  because  its  magnitude, 
with  all  its  portentous  possibilities,  appals  us.  Yet  it  is  a  question  which 
must  be  met  honestly  and  courageously,  if  we  are  to  avoid  a  world 
catastrophe  mightier  than  the  upheaval  which  is  now  shaking  Europe 
from  its  foundations. — Kiyoshi  K.  Kawakami,  "J^P^^^  ^^  World  Politics," 
pp.  xiii,  xiv. 

While  all  the  Powers  of  Europe  were  engaged  in  a  desperate  war 
of  resistance  to  Teutonic  aggression,  and  we  were  looking  on,  practically 
helpless,  at  the  internecine  butchery  of  the  white  race,  there  has  been  a 
steady  revival  among  the  vast  populations  which  inhabit  the  territories 
extending  from  the  Persian  Gulf  to  the  Sulu  Sea,  and  from  the  Amur 
River  to  the  Straits  of  Singapore.  Nevertheless,  we  still  talk  with  confi- 
dence of  capturing  more  of  Asiatic  trade  and  influencing  for  all  time 
Asiatic  development. 

Not  long  ago,  European  nations  were  calmly  discussing  and  deciding 
among  themselves  how  much  more  of  sleepy  Asia  they  should  appropri- 
ate, for  the  benefit,  no  doubt,  of  the  peoples  brought  under  this  foreign 
rule.  But  now  our  sense  of  conscious  superiority  is  being  shaken,  and 
when  we  find  the  inscrutable  Asiatic  learning  to  meet  us  successfully  with 
our  own  weapons,  we  draw  back  a  little.  We  even  begin  to  see  that  he 
may  have  good  grounds  for  regarding  his  white  rivals  as  the  uncultured 
and  discourteous  barbarians  that,  in  many  respects,  we  really  are. — H.  M. 
Hyndman,  "The  Awakening  of  Asia,"  p.  276. 

The  Orient  is  acquiring  a  new  life — a  new  vitality.  The  motive 
power  that  will  more  and  more  direct  its  policies  is  twofold.  The  first 
factor  is  practical.  It  will  come  from  the  pressure  of  an  increasing 
population — pressure  that  will  grow  mightily  with  every  new  decade. 
For  Occidental  hygiene,  medical  science,  and  ideals  as  to  the  value  of  the 
individual  will  rapidly  multiply  China's  millions.  Japan's  population 
has  doubled  in  fifty  years.  Will  China's  population  do  the  same  ?  Where 
will  they  live  ?     Whence  will  they  secure  their  food  ? 

The  second  factor  is  psychological.  Orientals  are  not  lacking  in 
pride,  in  courage,  in  determination,  and  in  ideals.  An  armed  Orient  will 
resent  discourtesy,  humiliation,  and  unfair  dealing.  It  will  fight  for 
honor — for  equal  treatment.  If  the  West  claims  superiority  and  right 
based  on  might,  the  East  when  ready  will  challenge  its  claim  and  test 
its  might. — Sidney  L.  Gulick,  "American  Democracy  and  Asiatic  Citizen- 
ship," pp.  II,  12. 


114  AMERICA'S   STAKE   IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

Economic  Significance  of  Asiatic  Labor 

It  is  not  likely  that  the  Chinese  will  take  up  speedily  the  cooperative 
phase  of  industry.  The  economic  circumstances  and  social  environment 
have  not  yet  reached  the  stage  w^here  this  is  possible.  In  all  probability 
a  considerable  period  of  competition  must  come,  as  in  Japan  and  Europe, 
before  such  a  transformation  can  be  brought  about.  During  this  period 
the  Chinese  will  be  themselves  most  formidable  competitors  on  the 
markets  of  the  world.  More  formidable  even  than  the  Japanese  if  they 
work  independently.  Most  formidable  of  all  if  they  work  in  combina- 
tion with  those  islanders — which  is  by  no  means  unlikely. 

For  the  Chinese  in  their  own  country,  as  abroad,  are  the  most 
persistent  and  indefatigable  toilers  the  world  has  ever  seen.  Like  the 
English,  they  are  content  to  be  wage-slaves,  so  long  as  they  get  what 
they  consider  to  be  good  pay.  They  are  ready  to  work  long  hours  in 
factories  at  rates  of  wages  which  the  European  laborer  of  similar  capacity 
would  scoff  at.  By  universal  admission,  in  all  grades  of  employment  they 
are  proving  themselves  little,  if  at  all,  inferior  to  their  white  compeers. — 
H.  M.  Hyndman,  "The  Awakening  of  Asia,"  pp.  113,  114. 

The  migration  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  into  any  single  Occi- 
dental land,  of  millions  or  even  of  several  hundred  thousand  Asiatic 
laborers  would  unquestionably  cause  serious  economic  competition  for 
Caucasian  laborers.  Asiatic  unmarried  laborers  would  underbid,  out- 
work, and  outlive  Caucasian  laborers,  especially  those  having  families  to 
support.  Caucasian  labor  would  doubtless  be  driven  from  any  field  to 
which  Asiatic  labor  could  enjoy  free  and  unresisted  admittance. 

The  alleged  danger,  however,  to  Occidental  manufacturing  classes 
from  the  importation  of  articles  manufactured  by  cheap  Asiatic  labor  is 
not  in  reality  such  as  is  commonly  asserted.  For  it  is  to  be  remembered 
that  the  West  cannot  purchase  goods  manufactured  in  Asia  unless  Asia 
purchases  corresponding  values  from  us.  In  proportion,  however,  as 
Asiatics  purchase  from  us  will  they  give  us  work.  In  proportion,  more- 
over, as  they  sell  to  us  will  they  be  able  to  buy  from  us. 

There  is,  nevertheless,  a  second  form  of  industrial  competition  with 
cheap  Asiatic  labor  that  merits  serious  consideration.  Suppose  the  plans 
of  Occidental  capitalists  succeed  for  the  economic  and  political  domina- 
tion of  Asia.  Let  us  assume  also  that  the  mining  resources,  railroad 
concessions,  manufacturing  establishments,  and  merchant  marine  of 
China  are  practically  owned  by  Occidental  capital.  It  will,  of  course, 
employ  cheap  Chinese  labor  at  the  cheapest  possible  rates.  Occidental 
capital  will  not  interest  itself  in  raising  the  wages  and  the  scale  of  life 
of  its  employes ;  for  the  greater  the  difference  between  the  cost  of  Occi- 
dental and  Oriental  labor  the  greater  the  profits  of  capital  on  Asiatic 
manufactures  purchased  in  the  West.  The  purchase,  moreover,  by  the 
West  of  articles  manufactured  in  the  East  will  ngt  be  from  Oriental  but 


NUMERICAL  STRENGTH  OF  YELLOW  RACE      115 

from  Occidental  capitalists.  The  West  will  need,  therefore,  to  send  to 
Asia  in  payment  only  the  amount  needed  for  the  actual  wages  and  raw 
material  of  the  cheap  Asiatic  labor.  The  profits  will  all  remain  in  the 
hands  of  Occidental  capitalists.  It  is  not,  indeed,  impossible  that  the 
profits  from  the  sales  in  Asia  of  Occidentally  owned  Asiatic  factories, 
mines,  and  railroads  could  completely  pay  for  the  raw  material  and  the 
low  wages  of  such  labor  as  is  employed  in  manufacturing  articles  for 
export  to  the  West.  In  that  case  Asia  could  export  to  the  West  in- 
definite amounts  of  manufactured  goods  without  needing  to  purchase 
anything  whatever  from  the  West.  The  transaction  would  be  entirely 
between  Occidentals,  the  purchaser  and  the  seller  both  being  Westerners. 
Under  such  circumstances,  the  disastrous  effect  on  Occidental  fac- 
tories and  factory  laborers  would  be  frightful.  In  other  words,  the  final 
economic  effect  on  both  Asiatics  and  Caucasians  of  Occidental  economic 
and  political  domination  of  Asia  would  be  highly  destructive  of  the  true 
welfare  of  both  East  and  West.  It  would  prevent  the  real  economic 
prosperity  and  social,  mental,  and  moral  development  of  Asia's  millions 
and  make  it  impossible  for  them  to  purchase  much  from  the  West.  But 
the  sale  in  the  West  of  articles  made  in  Asia,  without  a  corresponding 
purchase  from  the  West  by  the  East,  would  reduce  Occidental  labor  to 
serious  economic  straits,  possibly  even  more  serious  than  that  of  Asiatic 
labor  itself.  It  would  keep  both  Asiatic  and  Occidental  labor  in  complete 
economic  bondage.  This  condition.  East  and  West,  would  inevitably 
produce  corresponding  mental  and  moral  degeneration,  and  the  final 
complete  collapse  of  democracy  in  every  Occidental  land. — Sidney  L. 
Gulick,  "America  and  the  Orient,"  pp.  21-23. 

Raising  the  Standard  o£  Living  o£  the  Orient 

It  is  no  longer  possible  for  nations  to  shield  themselves  behind 
"Chinese  walls"  of  seclusion  and  isolation,  as  we  have  tried  to  do 
hitherto.  The  Orient  tried  it  and  failed,  and  the  same  result  is  bound 
sooner  or  later  to  overtake  a  like  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  Occident. 
The  only  solution,  then,  is  to  overlook  no  opportunity  to  extend  a  helping 
hand  to  the  Orient,  to  aid  it  in  every  possible  way  in  its  efforts  to 
advance,  to  grasp  the  essentials  of  modern  civilized  life,  and  to  assimilate 
its  standards  of  living  to  our  own.  In  this  way,  and  only  in  this  way, 
can  the  danger  of  future  economic  competition  of  a  disastrous  nature  be 
avoided.  The  Oriental  is  quite  as  susceptible  as  is  his  Occidental  brother 
to  the  pleasure  to  be  derived  from  creature  comforts  and  luxuries,  and 
he  is  equally  averse  to  having  these  taken  away  from  him  once  he  has 
become  accustomed  to  them.  The  reason  why  our  present  standards  of 
living  do  not  exist  in  China  is  the  same  which  explains  their  non-exist- 
ence in  the  Europe  and  America  of  only  a  few  generations  ago :  modern 
means  of  communication,  of  transportation,  and  of  the  application  of 


Ii6  AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

machinery  to  the  numberless  processes  of  modern  civilized  life  have  not 
yet  been  introduced.  The  country  is  predominantly  agricultural.  Com- 
merce, manufactures,  mining,  and  transportation  have  yet  to  be  developed 
to  the  point  where  they  can  begin  to  afford  a  livelihood  to  any  very  great 
part  of  the  population.  Political  ideals  will  have  to  crystallize  in  the 
shape  of  definite,  well  thought  out,  generally  accepted  and  consistently 
followed  policies,  both  domestic  and  foreign.  Until  these  changes  take 
place,  standards  of  living  and  the  crowding  of  population  upon  the  limit 
of  food  supply  will  improve  but  slowly. — C.  W.  Bishop,  Journal  of  Race 
Development,  July,  1918,  p.  70. 

The  Fundamental  Needs  o£  Human  Life 

The  very  countries  which  have  been  front  and  center  of  the  world's 
later  progress  in  civilization  have  been  also  the  swarmers  for  peopling 
the  earth.  But  the  case  of  Europe  does  not  stand  alone.  The  most 
advanced  of  all  Oriental  nations,  the  Japanese,  are  still  more  prolific.  At 
present  this  nation  is  said  to  be  doubling  its  population  in  about  fifty, 
instead  of  ninety,  years. 

There  are  now  undoubted  signs  that  growth  in  civilization  is  to  some 
extent  a  check  on  fertility,  and  consequently  that  such  rapid  increase  of 
population  of  civilized  countries  as  has  characterized  the  later  centuries 
will  not  be  kept  up.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  staying  of  disease, 
famine,  and  infanticide,  which  in  the  past  have  been  potent  in  keeping 
down  population,  are  among  the  most  prized  and  distinctive  marks  of 
progress.  And  now  comes  the  possibility  that  the  near  future  will  see 
war,  the  fourth  great  check  on  population,  shorn  of  its  truly  devastating 
power.  All  in  all,  the  conclusion  seems  unescapable  that  high  and  ever 
higher  world  civilization  implies  large  and  ever  larger  world  population. 

Having  regard  to  these  facts  of  population  and  to  the  limited  size 
of  the  earth,  and  reflecting  that  advance  in  civilization  is  conditioned 
on  nothing  less  than  ever  increasing  richness  of  human  life — improving 
physical  health,  and  never  ceasing  intellectual,  moral,  and  esthetic,  and 
religious  growth — and  how  avoid  recognizing  that  in  the  future  all 
economic  endeavor  and  much  of  political  endeavor  will  have  to  concern 
themselves  far  more  positively  and  directly  with  the  indispensable 
requisites  of  the  great  rank  and  file  of  populations  than  they  have  in 
the  past? 

There  can  be  no  question  that  the  demand  for  greater  world  de- 
mocratization, which  has  become  the  battle  cry  for  all  nations  now  fight- 
ing German  autocracy  and  militarism,  is  also  the  watchword  of  a  great 
forward  move  in  world  civilization,  and  that  one  element  in  the  success 
of  the  movement  would  be  the  death  knell  not  only  of  irresponsible 
political  rule  but  as  well  of  irresponsible  economic  exploitation. 

The  indubitable  needs  of  civilized  peoples  which  in  future  will  be  the 


NUMERICAL  STRENGTH  OF  YELLOW  RACE      117 

great  inspiration  of  political  action  will  have  to  oppose  ambition  for 
material  wealth  hardly  less  stoutly  and  vigilantly  than  it  will  have  to 
oppose  ambition  for  dynastic  and  militaristic  power.  And  this  will 
bring  a  change  over  nearly  the  whole  of  economic  theory,  purpose,  and 
method. — Professor  William  E.  Ritter,  "The  Resources  of  the  North 
Pacific  Ocean:  Their  Extent,  Utilization,  and  Conservation,"  pp.  5,  6. 

Reckoning  with  the  Unity  of  the  World 

Hitherto  and  always  the  workers  of  the  world  have  been  dis- 
tinguished by  their  international  outlook.  I  think  they  have  been  more 
full  of  thought  and  consideration  for  men  and  women  of  other  countries, 
climes,  and  colors  than  their  own  than  most  of  the  citizens  of  this 
country.  But  I  doubt  whether  that  outlook  has  yet  sufficiently  embraced 
the  great  future  industrial  powers  of  the  Eastern  nations  and  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  great  continent  of  Africa.  And  I  do  not  think  it  has 
been  sufficiently  realized  up  to  now  how  close  in  aim,  desire,  and,  there- 
fore, as  it  ought  to  be,  in  effort  the  missionary  cause  of  the  Church  and 
the  true  aspirations  of  labor  really  are.  .  .  . 

The  world,  for  good  or  evil,  is  one.  The  unity  of  the  world  is  not 
a  dream  of  the  poet ;  it  is  a  factor  with  which  politicians  and  industrialists 
alike  have  to  reckon.  The  dreamers — the  people  who  are  hopelessly  out 
of  touch  with  facts — are  the  people  who  confine  their  lives'  interests  to 
their  own  nation,  and  consider  still  that  the  world  is  divided  up  into  a 
number  of  separate  nationalities.  The  men  who  have  their  hands  upon 
facts  are  those  who  recognize  that  now,  and  from  this  time  on,  the 
world  everywhere  is  one  body.  The  war  proved  it  without  any  doubt, 
and  showed  that  you  cannot  have  a  great  evil  in  one  part  of  the  world 
without  the  remotest  part  of  the  world  shaking  in  response.  The  con- 
sequences of  the  war  are  proving  it.  .  .  .  We  cannot  escape  the  industrial 
unity  of  the  world.  The  nations  that  command  raw  materials  and  the 
cheapest  possible  labor  will  command  the  markets  of  the  world,  and  it  is 
impossible  for  any  sensible  man  to  shut  them  outside.  The  consequences 
of  your  having  great  new  nations  such  as  Japan  or  China,  or  vast 
masses  of  backward  peoples  such  as  central  Africa — where  raw  materials 
are  being  accumulated  in  abundance,  and  labor,  for  want  of  any  restrain- 
ing standard,  is  being  exploited — may  be  great  disaster  to  the  industries 
of  the  world  and  great  hindrance  to  the  workers  of  civilization.  .  .  . 

As  Lord  Bryce  very  rightly  said,  the  future  of  China  is  of  immense 
significance  to  the  whole  of  mankind.  There  you  have  a  great  territory 
containing  a  population  of  about  400,000,000  of  people  strong  in  body, 
quick,  intelligent,  and  adaptable  in  mind.  It  has  been  said  that  the 
Chinaman  has  all  the  cleverness  of  the  Japanese,  and  the  plodding 
patience  of  the  German.  He  can  turn  his  hand  to  almost  anything. 
There  is  great  truth  and  significance  in  that.    I  read  the  other  day 


Ii8         AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

of  a  notice  in  Shanghai :  "Furnaces  and  umbrellas  mended.  Any  mortal 
thing  can  do."  I  think  it  can  be  said  of  that  enormous  population  that, 
when  put  to  it,  it  would  say :  "Any  mortal  thing  can  do."  It  is  a  territory 
fertile  of  food  and  of  every  material  under  the  sun.  It  possesses  vast  and 
unexplored  mineral  resources.  I  am  told  that  the  coal  fields  of  South 
Shansi  could  supply  at  the  present  rate  of  consumption  sufficient  coal  to 
the  whole  world  for  thousands  of  years.  There  are  vast  quantities  of 
iron  and  of  copper.  There  are  great  waterways  and,  as  soon  as  railway 
facilities  can  be  produced,  there  are  literally  no  limits  to  the  industrial 
possibilities  of  China.  It  is  awakening,  as  you  all  know,  a  great  giant 
after  these  centuries  of  sleep,  stretching  its  limbs,  rubbing  its  eyes  and 
opening  them  on  a  new  world  and  its  possibilities.  .  .  .  All  this  immense 
possibility  of  industry  will  be  most  certainly  utilized  either  by  Chinese 
intelligence  and  enterprise  itself,  or  by  foreign  capitalists  and  merchant 
adventurers.  They  will  be  able  to  command  a  practically  vast  and 
unlimited  supply  of  labor,  ready  to  work  for  almost  nothing.  .  .  .  With 
a  nation  of  such  labor  to  draw  upon,  China  would  be  on  the  eve  of  a 
manufacturing  development  which  would  act  like  a  continental  upheaval 
changing  the  trade  map  of  the  world.  Now  picture  to  yourselves,  if 
China  be  dominated  with  an  entirely  material  conception  of  civilization, 
and  is  simply  thrust  into  the  maelstrom  of  industrial  pressure,  you  can  see 
at  once  how  it  will  affect  the  workers  of  the  world.  ...  I  speak  with  the 
greatest  possible  sympathy  and  friendliness  of  Japan,  because  she  is  our 
tried  and  proved  ally,  but  one  cannot  ignore  the  fact  that,  until  recently, 
the  cotton  mills  of  Japan  were  worked  with  an  army  of  indentured  female 
labor,  and  I  am  told  that  of  loo  women  who  are  brought  in  on  these 
conditions  80  never  return  home.  They  either  die  or  are  driven  to  an 
immoral  life.  That  is  only  what  happens  wherever  female  labor  is  not 
safeguarded.  .  .  . 

How  are  you  going  to  get  the  driving  power  of  conscience  that  will 
sustain  the  efforts  of  the  League  [of  Nations]  and  make  it  everywhere  a 
movement  which  cannot  be  resisted,  that  one's  personality  is  respected 
and  human  labor  is  not  exploited?  Or,  if  I  turn  to  these  backward  races, 
where  are  you  going  to  get  the  power  that  is  really  going  to  restrain  the 
inevitable  lust  of  profit?  Where  are  you  going  to  get  the  power  that  is 
going  to  give  to  these  backward  races  sufficient  self-respect  to  respond 
to  the  efforts  of  the  mandatory  powers  on  their  behalf;  without  their 
cooperation  and  self-respect,  how  can  they  be  industrially  or  socially 
raised?  That  is  the  question  for  the  world  to  find  an  answer,  for,  until 
we  have  found  an  answer  to  that  question,  where  is  the  driving  power  of 
conscience  that  is  going  to  lie  behind  these  efforts  to  standardize  work 
throughout  the  world  on  a  right  human  basis?  Until  we  have  got  the 
answer  to  that  we  can  get  little  further.  .  .  . 

Therefore,  unless  you  have  at  work  in  the  world  now  a  great  force 
of  spiritual  ideals  which  is  rooted  and  based  upon  the  intrinsic  dignity  of 


NUMERICAL  STRENGTH  OF  YELLOW  RACE      119 

every  human  personality,  you  will  not  be  able  to  protect  vast  numbers  of 
human  beings  from  being  exploited  at  the  hands  of  trade  and  commerce ; 
you  will  not  be  able  possibly  to  protect  the  workers  of  the  West  from  being 
overthrown  and  overrun  by  the  ill-equipped  and  half-starved  workers. 
That  is  the  situation  which  we  find,  and  I  ask  you,  with  confidence  as  to 
your  answer,  where  are  we  to  find  some  world  standard  rooted  upon  the 
inherent  dignity  of  human  personality?  I  know  of  no  answer,  and  I 
know  of  no  thoughtful  person  who  can  give  any  answer  but  one,  and 
that  is — the  power  and  the  prerogative  of  the  Faith  given  by  Jesus  Christ. 
There  is  no  other,  and,  therefore  it  is  that  I  would  say  with  all  my  heart 
that  labor  and  the  Church  of  Christ  have  got  to  come  together  for  the 
saving  and  uplifting  of  the  workers  of  the  world.  Do  not  let  me  be  mis- 
understood. I  am  not  suggesting  for  a  moment — 'God  forbid — ^that  we 
should  say  we  need  all  this  in  order  that  the  workers  of  the  West  may 
be  protected  against  the  workers  of  the  East,  or  the  backward  races. 
No,  I  am  sure  that  is  not  the  sort  of  appeal  that  wilf  touch  the  hearts 
and  consciences  of  the  workers  of  this  country.  I  believe  that  they 
will  listen  to  the  call  because  of  every  honest  desire,  not  for  their  own 
sakes,  but  for  the  sake  of  humanity,  to  raise  the  standard  of  human 
freedom  and  dignity  all  the  world  over. — The  Archbishop  of  York, 
Address  at  Sheffield,  England,  November,  1919. 


CHAPTER  XI 

WHAT  CHANGE  IS  THERE  THAT  THE  YELLOW 
RACE  WILL  EQUAL  OR  SURPASS  THE  WHITE 
RACE  IN  LEADERSHIP  IN  THE  WORLD  ? 

I.  Why  has  the  white  man  assumed  that  his  race  should  rule? 

Why  has  he  assumed  that  the  yellow  race  is  inferior? 

II.  How  does  the  yellow  race  compare  with  the  white  race  in 

possibilities  of  leadership? 

1.  How  far  is  the  white  man's  assumption  of  superiority  justi- 
fied? Given  an  equal  opportunity,  what  chance  is  there  that 
the  yellow  man  might  prove  as  able  as  the  white  man? 

2.  What  do  you  think  of  Japan's  progress  in  the  last  half 
century?  Do  you  think  that  a  nation  of  Anglo-Saxon  stock,  but 
recently  come  out  of  age-long  isolation  from  the  rest  of  the 
world,  would  have  done  better  or  worse  than  the  Japanese  have 
done  in  intellectual  and  commercial  achievement? 

3.  What  do  you  feel,  as  a  result  of  these  studies,  is  the  basal 
weakness  in  Japan's  political  and  social  life?  Can  this  be 
remedied  ?    How  ? 

4.  What  considerations  would  lead  you  to  expect  that  the  yellow 
race  will  share  equally  with  or  even  surpass  the  white  race  in 
the  political,  intellectual,  and  commercial  developments  of  the 
future  ?  What  considerations  would  lead  you  to  doubt  such  an 
outcome  ? 

III.  To  what  extent  is  the  future  leadership  in  international 

affairs  to  be  decided  on  a  basis  of  race? 

1.  To  what  extent  do  you  feel  the  uneasiness  in  America  regard- 
ing the  growing  Japanese  ascendency  in  the  Far  East  is  due  to 
American  race  prejudice  or  even  to  race  fear? 

2.  To  what  degree  is  the  white  man  willing  to  give  the  yellow 
man  a  fair  chance  to  develop  to  the  fullest  racial  capacity? 
What  evidence  do  you  have  of  this  ? 

3.  Just  what  is  it  that  pertains  to  your  own  race  that  seems  to 
you  most  worthy  of  preserving  and  handing  on  to  the  next 
generation  ?    Why  ? 

120 


YELLOW  OR  WHITE  RACE  IN  LEADERSHIP  ?       121 

4.  What  procedure,  in  your  judgment,  will  best  provide  for  the 
largest  possible  development  of  each  people  in  accord  with  its 
own  peculiar  genius  and  at  the  same  time  enable  each  race  or 
nation  to  make  its  largest  contribution  to  the  life  of  other  races 
and  nations? 

5.  In  your  judgment,  just  what  qualities  and  conditions  are 
most  likely  to  be  determinative  of  leadership  in  international 
affairs  in  the  future  ?  How  far  are  these  qualities  or  conditions 
racial  in  nature?  If  they  are  racial,  which  race  seems  to  you 
to  be  best  endowed  for  the  test  of  the  years  to  come  ?    Why  ? 

IV.     What  is  the  probability  as  to  the   full  recognition  of 
equality  as  between  the  white  and  the  yellow  races? 

1.  The  Japanese  representatives  at  Paris  tried  to  have  racial 
equality  written  into  the  Peace  Treaty.  Just  what  would  you 
say  racial  equality  is  ?    Equality  in  respect  to  what  ? 

2.  Is  racial  equality  something  to  be  asserted  or  to  be  achieved  ? 

3.  If  it  is  something  to  be  asserted,  just  how  or  where  and  how  is 
acknowledgment  to  be  made  or  recognition  to  be  granted  so  as 
to  make  the  assertion  effective  in  a  changed  attitude  on  the  part 
of  other  races  which  have  hitherto  claimed  superiority? 

4.  If  it  is  something  to  be  achieved,  just  what  achievement 
would,  in  your  judgment,  suffice  to  win  the  desired  status? 

a.  Just  what  would  you  be  willing  to  say  to  a  Japanese, 
Korean,  or  Chinese  school  friend  that  it  is  necessary  for  his 
race  or  nation  to  do  before  you  would  be  willing  to  acknowl- 
edge his  people  as  on  a  level  with  your  own? 

b.  Just  what  bearing  would  another  successful  war  on  the  part 
of  a  yellow  people  against  a  white  people,  like  the  Russo- 
Japanese  war  of  1904-1905,  have  on  your  point  of  view? 

5.  If  such  a  declaration  of  racial  equality  had  been  incorporated 
in  the  Peace  Treaty,  would  this  fact,  in  your  judgment,  have 
helped  to  command  for  the  races  of  color  that  world-wide 
recognition  of  equality  which  makes  for  national  and  racial 
self-respect?    If  so,  in  just  what  ways?    If  not,  why  not? 

REFERENCE  MATERIAL 

From  the  Orientars  Point  of  View 

What  embitters  the  Oriental,  is  the  Westerner's  assumption  of 
superiority,  his  presupposition  of  a  right  to  rule,  his  arrogance,  his 
unconcealed  contempt  of  the  yellow  man  as  an  inferior  social  being. 
Moreover,  he  condemns  the  cynical  materialism  of  the  white  races,  and 


122  AMERICANS   STAKE   IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

the  white  man's  unnatural  and  hypocritical  assumption,  in  his  eyes,  of 
moral  excellence.  Japan's  exhibition  of  what  an  Oriental  nation  can  do 
in  a  struggle  with  Western  civilization  has  awakened  new  interests  and 
ambitions  in  every  Eastern  people. — "The  Problem  of  Japan,"  by  an 
Ex-Councillor  of  Legation  in  the  Far  East,  pp.  i86,  187. 

Dropping  the  White  Man's  Burden 

During  the  greater  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  peoples  of 
European  race  claimed  to  have  a  manifest  superiority  over  Asiatics.  But 
history  demonstrates  conclusively  that  such  superiority  does  not  exist. 
Nor  was  this  the  attitude  of  European  travelers  and  adventurers  in  the 
East  in  the  first  instance.  Most  of  these  men,  persons  of  ability,  knowl- 
edge, and  repute  in  their  own  countries,  were  amazed  at  the  civilization, 
wealth,  and  magnificence  of  the  courts  they  visited  and  the  general 
well-being  of  the  populations  under  native  rule,  which  also  they  admired. 
For  many  a  long  day  deference  rather  than  arrogance  was  the  tone  of 
the  white  men  towards  the  Emperors  and  Kings,  Maharajahs  and 
Nawabs,  Viceroys  and  Mandarins  whom  they  encountered.  The  high 
qualities  and  great  attainments  of  these  potentates  and  their  ministers 
then  obtained  due  consideration.  The  arts  and  sciences,  philosophy  and 
jurisprudence  of  these  remote  societies  were  appreciated  and  respected. 
The  infinite  obligations  of  the  West  to  the  East  were  still  recognized: 
the  capacity  of  Asia,  in  war  as  in  peace,  was  not  forgotten. 

Then  the  Eastern  world  lay  dormant  for  a  time.  Europe  advanced 
rapidly  in  material  development  and  scientific  knowledge  and  acquire- 
ment, while  Asia  ceased  to  discover,  or  invent,  or  even  to  adopt  and 
absorb.  Improved  weapons  and  the  new  great  machine  industry  gave 
Europeans  the  temporary  advantage  in  war  and  in  trade.  But  how  long 
will  this  last?  What  security  have  we  of  the  permanence  of  this  super- 
ficial predominance?  .  .  . 

Japan  herself,  whose  leadership  of  Asia  afield  and  afloat  may  yet 
unless  we  are  very  careful  teach  white  men  a  lesson  all  over  the  world, 
was  driven  into  close  contact  with  Europe  and  America  against  her  will, 
first,  by  Commodore  Perry's  dexterous  diplomacy,  supported  by  the  power 
of  the  United  States,  and  then  by  the  much  less  justifiable  measures  of 
other  white  nations.  Japan  was,  in  fact,  compelled  to  enter  upon  foreign 
commerce  with  Europeans  by  the  familiar  process  of  bombardment  and 
butchery,  which  their  immensely  superior  weapons  of  offense  rendered 
merely  a  passing  amusement  for  the  civilized  aggressors.  That  was  but 
yesterday.  It  would  be  a  desperately  dangerous  experiment  to  repeat 
today.  Well  for  us  if  it  is  forgotten  tomorrow.  Asia  raided  and 
scourged  Europe  for  more  than  a  thousand  years.  Now  for  five  hun- 
dred years  the  counter-attack  of  Europe  upon  Asia  has  been  going 
steadily  on,  and  it  may  be  that  the  land  of  long  memories  will  cherish 


YELLOW  OR  WHITE  RACE  IN  LEADERSHIP  ?      123 

some  desire  to  avenge  this  period  of  wrong  and  rapine  in  turn.  The  seed 
of  hatred  has  already  been  but  too  well  sown. 

The  continent  which  has  long  regarded  itself  as  the  home  of  the 
progressive  peoples  and  the  hope  of  the  entire  planet  is  beginning  to 
forfeit  its  assumed  supremacy.  The  warlike  and  industrial  potentialities 
of  the  near  future  are  passing  slowly  but  surely  to  the  Far  East.  How- 
ever the  recent  stupendous  war  may  finally  end,  the  whole  of  educated 
Asia  can  read  its  meaning  written  across  the  map  of  the  world.  If  all 
those  portions  of  the  globe  which  are  inhabited  or  dominated  by  the  white 
races  are  seriously  taking  account  at  the  present  moment  of  their 
strength,  their  population,  and  their  possibilities  for  the  increase  of  their 
wealth  on  a  larger  scale  than  ever  before,  we  may  be  sure  the  ablest  men 
in  Asia  are  not  blind  to  what  can  be  achieved  in  their  own  countries  in 
peace  and  in  war.  It  is  true  that  the  differences  between  the  Asiatic 
peoples  are  as  acute  as  any  which  exist  in  Europe.  But  against  the  white 
man  they  are  practically  all  at  one. 

Yet  the  white  man  still  holds  control  over  nearly  half  of  Asia  and  its 
vast  population.  Asia  comprises,  including  its  islands,  little  less  than 
1,000,000,000  of  the  human  race.  England,  France,  Russia,  Holland,  and 
the  United  States  are  all  deeply  concerned  in  the  future  of  this  mass  of 
people,  in  view  of  the  scope  of  territory  and  population  they  control.  All 
will  be  greatly  affected  by  the  general  political,  economic,  and  social 
movement  of  Japan,  China,  and  India.  In  a  word,  the  position  of  Great 
Britain  foremost,  and  of  the  other  powers  in  their  degree,  is  now  being 
steadily  undermined.  The  determined  effort  to  secure  Asia  for  the 
Asiatics,  once  begun  as  earnestly  in  action  as  it  is  now  being  seriously 
considered  in  thought,  might  spread  with  a  rapidity  which  would  paralyze 
all  attempts  at  reconquest,  if,  indeed,  such  attempts  could  ever  be  effec- 
tively made.  The  West  deprived  of  British  India,  the  Asiatic  provinces 
of  Russia,  French  Tonkin  and  Cochin  China,  Dutch  Java,  Sumatra,  and 
the  Celebes,  the  Philippines  under  the  United  States,  would  be  a  very 
different  Europe  from  that  to  which  we  have  been  accustomed. 

That  is  a  possibility  of  which  the  West,  with  forces  now  weakened 
and  depleted  to  a  wholly  unprecedented  extent,  must  soon  take  account. 
Unconsciously,  but  none  the  less  certainly,  it  is  making  way.  Where  fifty 
or  even  twenty  years  ago  the  continuous  expansion  of  Western  domina- 
tion over  the  East  was  taken  for  granted,  now  an  uneasy  but  not  yet 
openly  admitted  feeling  is  growing  that  the  tide  has  turned  and  that  ere 
long  the  area  of  European  influence  in  the  East  will  be  considerably 
reduced. — H.  M.  Hyndman,  Asia^  October,  19 19,  pp.  995,  996. 

What  Is  the  West  Thinking  of  the  East? 

Unless  the  peoples  of  the  West  learn  to  view  their  relations  with  the 
East  in  a  new  light,  it  is  futile  to  expect  their  governments  to  deviate 


124         AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

from  the  path  they  have  been  following.  What,  then,  is  the  West  think- 
ing of  the  East? 

Speaking  in  general  terms  and  disregarding  exceptions,  the  West,  the 
powerful,  imperialistic  West,  looks  upon  the  feeble,  resigning  East  as  an 
entirely  different  world  which  must  occupy  an  inferior  position  in  the 
scale  of  world  communities.  To  extend  a  helping  hand  to  the  East, 
to  guide  its  unsteady  steps  into  the  paths  of  progress  and  civilization, 
to  lift  it  from  sloughs  of  despondency  and  accord  it  a  place  of  equality — 
such  a  task  is  not  given  to  the  West  to  undertake.  Look  at  India  and 
China,  and  all  the  rest  of  Asia,  with  the  lone  exception  of  Japan.  Here 
you  have  a  concrete  example  of  the  Occident's  attitude  towards  the 
Orient.  Japan  has  saved  herself  from  the  common  fate  of  her  unhappy 
neighbors  because  she  was  quick  enough  to  see  that  the  only  way  to  win 
the  respect  of  the  aggressive  Occident  was  to  "beat  it  at  its  own  game." 

When  Socialists  in  Europe  and  America  pledge  themselves  to  inter- 
nationalism they  are  thinking  only  of  Europe  and  America,  forgetting 
that  across  the  oceans  teeming  millions  are  crying  for  greater  fields  of 
activity  and  for  redemption  from  bondage  to  Western  capital.  When 
the  trade  unionists  of  Europe  and  America  speak  of  the  brotherhood  of 
workers,  they  are  thinking  only  of  their  own  race.  When  the  pacifists 
of  Europe  and  America  advocate  world  peace,  they  seem  to  mean  main- 
tenance of  peace  by  sustaining  the  status  quo  of  the  relations  of  the  East 
and  West — ^by  permitting  the  West  not  only  to  continue  its  occupation,  in 
all  parts  of  the  world,  of  more  territory  than  it  is  justly  entitled  to  possess 
but  to  exclude  from  such  territories  all  dark-skinned  races  whose  over- 
crowded home  lands  not  only  offer  scant  opportunity  to  their  natives  but 
are  themselves  subject  to  untrammeled  exploitation  at  the  hands  of  the 
West.  Even  Christianity  has  abruptly  stopped  and  struck  its  standard 
before  the  racial  wall,  and  has  no  courage  to  advance.  A  Western 
nation  may  declare  a  Monroe  Doctrine,  but  is  reluctant  to  accord  an 
Asiatic  nation  a  similar  privilege.  The  West  expects  the  East  to  open 
its  doors  to  the  exploitation  of  the  white  race,  but  reserves  the  right  to 
slam  its  own  dpors  in  the  faces  of  Orientals. 

It  all  comes  to  this,  that  to  the  Western  mind,  the  East  is  a  neg- 
ligible quantity  to  be  dealt  with  as  whim  or  fancy  may  direct. — K.  K. 
Kawakami,  "Japan  in  World  Politics,"  pp.  x-xii. 

The  Question  of  the  "Yellow  Peril" 

As  regards  the  whole  question  of  the  relations  of  the  present 
dominant  races  to  the  rest  of  the  world,  two  schools  of  thought  are 
fighting  desperately — the  old  and  the  new.  One  represents  the  convic- 
tion of  innate  superiority  involving  the  right  to  acquire  and  exploit  with- 
out any  reference  to  the  desires  and  feelings  of  the  exploited.  The 
other  .  .  .  represents  the  new  spirit,  and  the  one  upon  which  the  future 


YELLOW  OR  WHITE  RACE  IN  LEADERSHIP  ?       125 

welfare  of  the  world  must  depend.  It  embodies  the  recognition  of  the 
right — not  merely  of  every  Western  nation — but  of  every  nation  to 
what  the  former  German  Kaiser  used  to  call  "a  place  in  the  sun."  It 
represents  the  honest  attempt  to  make  realities  of  the  cant  phrases  and 
party  catchwords  of  the  last  century,  and  as  it  grows  and  develops  it  will 
come  to  include  the  recognition  of  the  right  of  every  race,  whether  great 
or  small,  to  follow  along  orderly  lines  of  progress  its  own  destiny  in 
accordance  with  its  own  desires  and  propensities.  At  present  it  has  its 
limitations,  but  it  carries  within  it  the  germ  of  mankind's  political  and 
social  salvation,  because  its  conceptions  are  deeply  rooted  upon  the 
eternal  bedrock  of  justice. 

The  great  question  is — Will  it  triumph  at  this  juncture?  Or  is  it  to 
be  submerged  by  the  older,  grosser,  more  selfish  conception?  If  it  is, 
let  the  world  beware.  If  the  West  decides  to  reject  the  new  light — to 
uphold  still  its  ancient  claim  of  a  right  to  annex,  control,  and  exploit  the 
rest  of  mankind,  irrespective  of  their  wishes  and  feelings,  a  time  will 
come  when  the  nations  of  Europe  and  America  will  have  to  face,  not  only 
a  yellow  peril,  but  the  peril  of  all  the  races  whose  feelings  and  rights  they 
have  outraged  through  the  centuries.  It  will  not  be  in  our  day;  it  may 
not  even  be  in  the  days  of  our  grandchildren;  but  it  will  surely  come. 
The  rest  of  mankind  will  rise  in  indignation,  and  with  a  might  which 
justice  gives  the  wronged,  and  ask,  "By  what  authority  do  you  arrogate  to 
yourselves  the  right  to  parcel  us  among  yourselves,  to  force  us  into 
treaties  against  our  wills  drawn  up  to  your  gain  and  our  loss  ?  You  have 
denied  us  the  right  of  entry  into  your  own  countries,  while  claiming  the 
right  of  entire  freedom  to  do  what  you  like  in  ours.  Not  only  have  you 
refused  in  your  own  lands  any  of  the  privileges  you  have  claimed  for 
yourselves  in  ours,  but  even  in  the  lands  of  our  birth  you  have  denied 
us  the  rights  which  are  ours  by  every  moral  law.  In  what  lies  your 
justification  when  you  force  us  to  destroy  our  own  systems  of  life  and 
social  economy  so  that  we  may  adapt  ourselves  to  your  needs?  We  do 
not  admit  your  right;  we  refuse  in  future  to  live  at  your  dictation.  Be 
gone !     We  will  have  no  more  of  you." 

We  do  not  believe  that  such  a  situation  will  arise.  We  cannot 
believe  that  the  old  dark  point  of  view  will  conquer.  But  if  it  does,  and 
if  as  a  result  the  world  is  plunged  into  such  a  sea  of  devastation  and 
distress  as  it  has  never  seen  before,  upon  whom  will  the  guilt  lie  ?  Surely 
not  upon  those  races  who,  after  suffering  coercion  and  wrong  for  a  long 
period  of  years,  rise  to  defend  themselves  and  to  win  that  freedom  which 
every  true  Englishman  and  American  values  more  than  life. 

No ;  there  is  no  "Yellow  Peril,"  and  if  the  West  be  true  to  its  highest 
ideals,  earnestly  endeavoring  to  give  the  less  powerful  nations  those 
rights  and  opportunities  which  it  values  for  itself,  such  a  peril  will  never 
arise. 

But  if  the  counsels  of  the  reactionaries  prevail,  this  Peril  must  always 


126         AMERICA'S   STAKE   IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

be  taken  into  consideration  and  recognized  as  a  potent  factor  of  the 
future.  Yet  in  justice  it  should  be  called  not  the  "Yellow  Peril,"  but 
the  "White  Peril,"  for  those  who  inflict  the  wrong  must  be  held  re- 
sponsible for  the  result. — Samuel  Evans  Stokes,  Modern  Review,  August, 
1919,  pp.  131,  132. 

The  Marvel  of  the  Modernization  of  Japan 

When  an  American  squadron  arrived  to  break  down  her  isolation, 
she  did  not  possess  even  the  beginnings  of  a  national  fleet  or  a  national 
army;  of  an  ocean-going  mercantile  marine;  of  a  telegraphic  or  postal 
system;  of  a  newspaper  press;  of  enlightened  codes,  of  a  trained  judi- 
ciary, or  of  properly  organized  tribunals  of  justice;  she  knew  nothing 
of  Occidental  sciences  and  philosophies;  was  a  complete  stranger  to 
international  law  and  to  the  usages  of  diplomacy;  had  no  conception  of 
parliamentary  institutions  or  popular  representation;  and  was  divided 
into  a  number  of  feudal  principalities,  each  virtually  independent  of  the 
other,  and  all  alike  untutored  in  the  spirit  of  nationality  or  imperialism. 
In  thirty  years  these  conditions  were  absolutely  metamorphosed.  Feudal- 
ism had  been  abolished;  the  whole  country  united  under  one  administra- 
tion; the  polity  of  the  State  placed  on  a  constitutional  basis;  the  people 
admitted  to  a  share  in  the  government  under  representative  institutions; 
an  absorbing  sentiment  of  patriotism  substituted  for  the  narrow  local 
loyalties  of  rival  fiefs;  the  country  intersected  with  telegraphs  and  rail- 
ways, and  its  remotest  districts  brought  within  the  circuit  of  an  excellent 
postal  system ;  the  flag  of  the  nation  carried  to  distant  countries  by  a  large 
mercantile  marine ;  a  powerful  fleet  organized,  manned  by  expert  seamen, 
and  proved  to  be  as  capable  of  fighting  scientifically  as  of  navigating  the 
high  seas  with  marked  immunity  from  mishap;  the  method  of  conscrip- 
tion applied  to  raising  a  large  military  force,  provided  with  the  best 
modern  weapons  and  trained  according  to  Western  tactics;  the  laws 
recast  on  the  most  advanced  principles  of  Occidental  jurisprudence  and 
embodied  in  exhaustive  codes;  provision  made  for  the  administration  of 
justice  by  well-equipped  tribunals  and  an  educated  judiciary;  an  extensive 
system  of  national  education  inaugurated,  with  universities  turning  out 
students  capable  of  original  research  in  the  sciences  and  philosophies  of 
the  West;  the  State  represented  at  foreign  courts  by  competent  diplo- 
matists; the  people  supplied  with  an  ample  number  of  journals  and 
periodicals ;  the  foundations  of  a  great  manufacturing  career  laid,  and  the 
respect  of  foreign  powers  unreservedly  won.  Such  a  record  may  well 
excite  wonder.  .  .  . 

If  that  were  all  she  had  done,  it  might  not  be  fair  to  say  that  any 
intelligent  people  would  have  acted  with  less  vigor  under  similar  circum- 
stances. But  Japan  did  not  confine  herself  to  adopting  the  externals  of 
Western  civilization.    She  became  an  eager  pupil  of  its  scientific,  political. 


YELLOW  OR  WHITE  RACE  IN  LEADERSHIP  ?       127 

moral,  philosophic,  and  legislative  systems  also.  She  took  the  spirit  as 
well  as  the  letter,  and  by  so  doing  differentiated  herself  effectively  from 
Oriental  states.  It  has  been  objected  that  this  wholesale  receptivity  was 
limited  to  a  few  leaders  of  thought — to  the  literati  and  the  military 
patricians  whose  will  had  always  been  law  to  the  commoners.  Certainly 
that  is  true  as  to  the  initiative.  But  it  is  unimaginable  that  such 
sweeping  changes  could  have  been  effected  in  a  quiet  and  orderly  manner 
had  not  the  hearts  of  the  people  been  with  the  reformers.  In  Japan  no 
railways  were  torn  up,  no  machines  wrecked,  no  lines  of  telegraph 
demolished  by  laborers  who  feared  for  their  own  employment  or  fanatics 
who  saw  their  superstitions  slighted.  Rapid  as  was  the  pace  set  by  the 
leaders  of  progress,  the  masses  did  not  hang  back.  That  tribute  at  least 
must  be  paid  to  the  nation's  intelligent  liberality  by  any  honest  writer  of 
its  modern  history.  We  may  deny  that  other  peoples  might  not  have  done 
as  well,  but  we  can  scarcely  affirm  that  any  would  have  done  better. — 
Captain  Frank  Brinkley,  "J^P^"-  I^s  History,  Arts,  and  Literature," 
pp.  9,  12,  13. 

Japan's  Greatest  Need 

In  my  conversations  with  prominent  Japanese  during  my  two  visits 
to  Japan,  I  was  accustomed  to  bring  in  the  query :  "What  do  you  regard 
as  the  chief  need  of  modern  Japan  ?"  After  collating  the  answers  at  the 
end  of  my  tours,  I  found  that  the  consensus  of  opinion  was  that  Japan's 
most  urgent  need  is  a  new  basis  of  morals;  that  the  nation  has  broken 
loose  from  its  old  religious  moorings  and  has  not  yet  made  new 
ones.  .  .  . 

We  of  the  West  have  given  the  Japanese  our  weapons  to  increase 
their  military  efficiency,  our  inventions  and  discoveries  to  increase  their 
manufacturing  and  commercial  efficiency,  our  educational  and  scientific 
methods  to  increase  their  intellectual,  our  medical  and  surgical  equip- 
ment to  increase  their  ability  to  treat  disease;  are  we  not  under  equal 
obligation,  to  say  the  least,  to  give  them  the  Gospel  that  will  increase 
their  spiritual  efficiency  and  enable  them  to  make  right  use  of  all  their 
other  powers? 

The  Japanese  already  have  a  political  vision.  They  covet  the  leader- 
ship of  Asia,  and  they  are  preparing  for  it  with  a  skill  and  energy  which 
elicit  the  wonder  of  mankind.  They  already  have  a  commercial  vision, 
and  they  are  strenuously  trying  to  realize  it.  They  already  have  an 
intellectual  vision,  and  they  have  built  up  one  of  the  best  educational 
systems  in  the  world.  What  Japan  now  needs  is  a  spiritual  vision  which 
will  purify  and  glorify  these  other  visions. — A.  J.  Brown,  "The  Mastery 
of  the  Far  East,"  pp.  654,  655. 

Making  World  Democracy  Real 

A  "square  deal" !  That  is  just  what  every  man  and  woman,  every 


128         AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

nation  and  people,  every  culture  and  civilization,  needs  to  have  if  democ- 
racy (real  in  contradistinction  to  sham  democracy)  is  to  be  made  a 
reality.  If  every  individual,  every  nation,  every  culture,  be  given  an 
opportunity  to  prove  what  good  qualities  it  possesses  and  what  task  for 
society  as  a  whole  it  is  capable  of  performing ;  if  every  individual  assume 
a  place  in  the  social  scale  in  accordance  with  his  or  her  proved  qualities 
and  capabilities;  if  mankind  realize  once  and  for  all  that  to  a  social  posi- 
tion which  is  lofty  because  its  holder  is  a  person  of  high  ability  there 
attaches  an  added  obligation  to  be  courteous,  generous,  upright,  honest, 
unselfish,  considerate,  temperate  in  language  and  in  act,  brave,  and  self- 
sacrificing,  and  that  to  a  position  which  is  humble  because  the  holder's 
abilities  are  modest  there  attaches  no  disgrace  or  shame  whatsoever;  if 
these  things  and  others  of  a  kindred  sort  become  social  realities,  then  we 
shall  begin  to  have  real  democracy.  The  anti-democratic  forces  at  large 
in  the  world  today  are  not  inequality  in  social  and  political  rank,  pater- 
nalism, wealth  and  the  possession  of  wealth,  titles  in  recognition  of  merit, 
and  kindred  things;  rather,  the  real  anti-democratic  forces  are  the 
hereditary  principle,  nepotism,  unkindliness,  materialism,  Marxism,  Bol- 
shevism, Teutonism,  race-contempt,  color-lines,  cultural  exclusive- 
ness.  .  .  . 

As  every  human  being  should  have  a  "square  deal,"  so  should  every 
culture  and  civilization;  as  every  man  or  woman  should  have  ample 
opportunity  to  prove  himself  or  herself,  so  should  every  society  and  every 
human  institution.  When  we  of  the  white  race  of  Europe  humbly  confess 
that  we  do  not  possess  all  the  excellence  in  the  world,  and  when  we 
acknowledge  that  others  may  be  able  to  teach  us  much  that  will  help  us, 
just  as  we  teach  them  much  that  aids  them,  then,  with  the  introduction 
of  such  race-appreciation,  will  come  real  world  democracy.  The  planet 
will  become  a  social  constant,  and  a  social  whole.  .  .  . 

The  lack  of  a  sympathetic  understanding  that  shall  transcend  boun- 
dary lines  has  been  the  basic  cause  of  the  multitudinous  wars  which 
fill  the  pages  of  history.  How  can  democracy  win  a  true  victory  if 
there  is  no  democracy  between  nation  and  nation? 

Similarly,  to  extend  the  matter  beyond  the  bournes  of  our  own  race 
and  culture,  how  can  real  world  democracy  ever  come  into  being  so  long 
as  one  race  looks  down  upon,  exploits,  and  exterminates  all  the  rest, 
obliterating  both  the  evil  and  the  good  in  their  cultures  by  the  enforced 
introduction  of  both  the  evil  and  the  good  in  its  own?  How  can  a  true 
democracy  be  created  for  the  world  unless  every  one  of  the  world's 
peoples  be  given  an  equal  chance  to  prove  what  degree  of  political,  social, 
and  cultural  virtue  it  may  possess?— P.  A.  Means,  "Racial  Factors  in. 
Democracy,"  pp.  233,  234,  235,  238. 

Causes  of  Racial  Misunderstanding  and  Conflict 

The  greatest  and  most  difficult  problem  of  the  modern  world  is  to  find 


YELLOW  OR  WHITE  RACE  IN  LEADERSHIP  ?       129 

the  right  adjustment  of  the  relations  between  the  progressive  nations 
of  the  West  and  the  peoples  of  Asia  and  Africa,  whose  development 
until  recently  has  been  largely  stationary.  Its  solution  demands  a  fuller 
exercise  of  the  imagination,  a  larger  measure  of  disinterestedness,  and  a 
more  sustained  moral  effort  than  any  people  has  attained  to  in  the  past. 

The  difficulty  is  increased  by  the  possibilities  of  misunderstanding 
that  are  rife  in  the  divergent  standpoints  of  those  who  have  to  cooperate 
with  one  another.  Whereas  in  the  earlier  contacts  of  Europe  with 
Africa  and  the  East  the  superior  energy,  technical  knowledge,  and  moral 
force  of  the  Western  peoples  led  in  many  instances  to  an  easy  acquies- 
cence in  their  leadership,  we  now  witness  everywhere  a  growing  reaction. 
A  strong  national  consciousness  is  awakening  not  only  among  the  peoples 
of  Asia  but  also  among  the  tribes  of  Africa,  and  is  certain  to  increase 
in  volume  and  intensity.  The  superiority  of  Western  civilization  is  no 
longer  undisputed  among  the  educated  classes  in  Asia.  Its  weaknesses 
are  being  discovered,  freely  exposed,  and  often  exaggerated.  The  right 
of  the  white  man  to  dominate  the  world  is  repudiated  with  growing 
vehemence.  Unless  there  is  a  general  awakening  to  the  gravity  of  the 
situation,  we  may  speedily  drift  into  a  state  of  misunderstanding,  distrust, 
and  antagonism  from  which  there  will  be  no  outlet  or  escape  except 
through  seas  of  blood,  the  sacrifice  of  much  that  is  best  in  life,  and  the 
loss  of  that  cooperation  of  different  races  which,  successfully  pursued, 
might  lead  to  the  enrichment  of  all. 

The  causes  of  racial  misunderstanding  and  conflict  are  many  and 
complex.  Economic  factors  play  a  large  and  important  part.  The  objec- 
tion to  Asiatic  immigration  on  the  Pacific  Coast  of  America  and  in 
Australia  arises  from  the  desire  to  prevent  a  depreciation  of  existing 
standards  of  life.  This  demand  is  in  itself  just  and  reasonable,  and  so 
long  as  it  is  made  and  maintained  in  a  spirit  of  fairness  and  consideration 
it  need  not  provoke  bitterness  or  lead  to  conflict.  But  unhappily  it  has 
often  found  expression  in  inexcusable  acts  of  violence  and  unreasoning 
selfishness,  which  have  aroused  feelings  of  passionate  resentment. 
Again,  where  different  races  are  brought  into  contact  with  one  another 
we  frequently  witness  determined  efforts  on  the  part  of  professions, 
trading  communities,  and  labor  organizations  to  keep  the  field  of  oppor- 
tunity as  a  strict  preserve  for  members  of  their  own  race,  and  to  resist 
violently  any  attempt  by  representatives  of  the  other  race  to  enter  it. 
This  attitude  is  often  due  to  a  social  instinct  which  seeks  to  preserve  the 
standards  of  life  from  depreciation ;  but  it  is  sometimes  simply  an  expres- 
sion of  that  class  or  personal  selfishness  which  is  everywhere  the  enemy 
of  the  real  interests  of  the  commonwealth  and  which  must  be  combated 
by  every  true  friend  of  humanity.  While  the  white  man  thus  seeks 
strictly  to  protect  his  own  interests  against  the  competition  of  other  races, 
he  has  few  scruples  in  invading  the  life  of  other  peoples  or  in  exploiting 
their  needs  and  resources  for  his  own  benefit.    This  selfish  exploitation 


I30         AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

and  the  acts  of  injustice  and  violence  which  have  been  associated  with  it 
cannot  fail  to  arouse  feelings  of  resentment  and  antagonism  in  those  who 
have  been  the  victims  of  the  spoliation.  All  these  forces  are  economic 
rather  than  racial,  but  they  exert  a  powerful  influence  wherever  different 
races  are  brought  into  contact  with  one  another  and  profoundly  affect 
their  mutual  relations. 

Where  the  races  differ  widely  in  their  modes  of  thought  and  habits 
of  life,  economic  rivalry  is  aggravated  by  the  difficulty  of  mutual  under- 
standing. There  is,  in  many  people,  a  natural  antipathy  to  what  is  un- 
familiar, and  this  can  readily  be  fanned  into  a  flame  of  violent  dislike. 
It  is  easy  to  depreciate  virtues  which  are  not  our  own  and  to  exaggerate 
the  objectionable  nature  of  vices  to  which  we  ourselves  are  not  prone. 
Thus  each  race  may  quickly  come  to  believe  the  other  to  be  worse  than 
it  really  is.  Differences  in  color  and  in  speech  are  the  obvious  marks  of 
a  separate  class,  and  hence  members  of  each  race  come  to  think  of  those 
of  the  other  as  belonging  to  a  class;  they  are  apt,  in  consequence,  to 
attribute  the  faults  of  a  few  to  the  class  as  a  whole,  instead  of  judging 
each  individual,  as  he  ought  to  be  judged,  by  his  personal  qualities.  The 
same  conspicuous  differences  tend  to  obscure  the  common  humanity 
which  underlies  them,  and  consequently,  when  disputes  arise,  there  is  a 
smaller  fund  of  human  kindness  and  fellowship  on  which  to  draw  for 
composing  them. 

It  is  perhaps  necessary  to  recognize,  besides  the  forces  which  have 
been  mentioned,  a  deep-seated  protective  instinct  at  work  to  preserve 
racial  integrity  and  purity.  Mr.  Maurice  Evans,  who  has  given  many 
years  of  study  to  the  relations  of  Black  and  White  in  South  Africa  and 
in  the  southern  states  of  America,  holds  that  this  is  the  only  explanation 
of  the  rooted  and  unbending  determination  of  the  white  race  to  withhold 
from  the  Negro  any  share  in  its  own  social  life.  This  determination  is 
found  even  among  those  who  are  the  true  friends  of  the  black  man,  and 
who  sincerely  desire  the  education  and  progress  of  his  race.  It  would 
be  folly  to  ignore  a  factor  so  significant  and  vital  as  race,  or  in  practical 
measures  to  leave  out  of  account  those  "vast  accumulated  and  entrenched 
realities  of  emotion  and  conviction,  of  social  instinct  and  historic  tradi- 
tion," which  race  implies.  ... 

It  is  evident  that  the  interaction  of  powerful  economic  forces  and 
strong  racial  instincts  gives  rise  to  a  situation  which  must  tax  the  re- 
sources of  statesmanship  and  the  moral  capacities  of  mankind  to  the 
uttermost.  The  chief  hope  of  a  solution  is  that  the  problems  should  be 
taken  in  hand  in  time.  When  passions  have  become  inflamed  and 
prejudices  have  taken  root,  questions  that  might  once  have  been  settled  by 
compromise  and  good  will  may  become  insoluble  and  statesmanship  be 
left  helpless  in  the  face  of  invincible  misunderstanding  and  deep-seated 
mistrust.  The  influence  of  reason  and  reflection  must  be  brought  to  bear 
on  questions  that  have  hitherto  been  left  to  the  play  of  untutored  instinct 


YELLOW  OR  WHITE  RACE  IN  LEADERSHIP  ?       131 

and  blind  prejudice.  Lord  Bryce  has  pointed  out  how  largely  national 
and  racial  antagonism  has  been  fostered  by  historians  and  poets  who  have 
fed  the  flame  of  national  pride  by  glorifying  the  ancient  exploits  of  the 
race  and  dwelling  on  its  virtues  and  achievements.  If  the  dangers  in- 
volved in  racial  misunderstanding  are  to  be  overcome,  we  require  a  policy 
of  education  which  will  aim  at  stimulating  and  strengthening  the  in- 
stincts of  honor,  chivalry,  and  generosity  towards  other  races.  The 
public  mind  must  become  imbued  with  the  idea  that  the  world  is  a  com- 
munity of  nations  and  races,  none  of  which  can  be  made  perfect  apart 
from  the  others,  and  that  just  as  a  good  man  finds  his  highest  satisfaction 
in  the  service  of  the  community  to  which  he  belongs,  so  the  true  glory  of 
a  nation  is  to  be  found  in  the  service  it  renders  to  humanity.  The 
instinct  of  nationality  needs  to  be  converted,  so  that  the  chief  desire  of 
those  who  love  their  country  will  be  that  it  should  make  the  largest 
contribution  that  it  can  to  the  good  of  the  world. — ^J.  H.  Oldham,  "The 
World  and  the  Gospel,"  pp.  185-191. 


CHAPTER  XII 

WHAT  ATTITUDE  SHOULD  AMERICA  TAKE 
TOWARD  THE  YELLOW  RAGE? 

I.  Did  you  ever  have  the  experience  of  genuine  and  hearty 

friendships  with  Orientals? 

1.  If  so,  did  you  find  it  harder  to  establish  such  friendships  with 
Japanese  than  with  Koreans  or  Chinese?  Were  the  friendships 
equally  rich  and  lasting  ? 

2.  Would  you  like  to  try  to  establish  such  friendships  if  oppor- 
tunity offered  ?  Would  you  feel  like  going  out  of  your  way  to 
show  yourself  friendly  ?     Why  or  why  not  ? 

3.  If  you  could  choose  the  race  with  which  to  begin,  which  would 
you  choose?    Why? 

II.  How  far  is  it  possible  for  the  East  and  the  West  to  under- 

stand each  other  and  to  work  together? 

1.  "Oh  East  is  East  and  West  is  West, 

And  never  the  twain  shall  meet." 
To  what  extent  are  there  inherently  different  qualities  which 
make  it  difficult  for  the  East  and  the  West  to  work  together? 
How  far  do  you  feel  that  color  is  and  must  continue  to  be  a 
divisive  factor  among  the  races  of  men?  Do  you  feel  that 
racial  differences  are  likely  to  be  determinative  of  the  possi- 
bilities of  wholesome,  helpful,  and  cordial  relationships  between 
nations  and  peoples  in  a  rapidly  narrowing  world  ? 

2.  So  far  as  you  have  had  opportunity  to  come  to  know  other 
races,  what  seem  to  you  to  be  the  basal  characteristics  and  in- 
stincts'in  human  nature  which  make  the  whole  world  kin?  Just 
what  human  values  are  to  be  appraised  for  their  own  sake,  as 
of  universal  significance,  and  without  regard  to  the  particular 
racial  group  in  the  midst  of  which  they  may  perchance  emerge  ? 

III.  Where  would  the  nations  of  East  and  West  help  and 

where  hurt  each  the  other? 

I.  What  is  there  in  America  that  you  would  wish  to  preserve 
from  the  impact  of  other  nations  and  races  living  around  the 
Pacific?  What  is  there  in  our  national  life  from  which  they 
should  be  protected  ? 

132 


AMERICA'S  ATTITUDE  TO  YELLOW  RACE?      133 

2.  What  is  there  in  our  national  life  worth  passing  on  to  these 
other  nations  and  races  ?  What  do  they  have  worth  our  learn- 
ing or  securing? 

3.  Upon  the  whole,  would  a  greater  contact  between  the  nations 
around  the  Pacific  be  beneficial  or  otherwise  to  the  national  life 
of  each  ? 

IV.  What  restrictions,  if  any,  do  you  feel  there  should  be  on 
the  relations  of  America  with  the  nations  of  the  Far 
East? 

1.  Why  have  the  Chinese  been  excluded  from  the  United  States? 
How  far  is  this  exclusion  act  justified  today? 

2.  What  should  be  done  with  reference  to  the  feeling  against  the 
Japanese  on  the  Pacific  Coast  ? 

a.  If  the  Pacific  Coast  states  were  to  prove  insistent  in  anti- 
Oriental  agitation  and  were  to  go  beyond  Congress  and  the 
executive  department  of  the  national  Government  in  their 
direct  activities  of  protest,  what  would  be  your  attitude  in 
the  matter? 

b.  How  far  should  the  Pacific  Coast  be  bound  by  action  taken 
for  the  good  of  the  whole  American-Far-Eastern  relations, 
even  if  this  action  seemed  likely  to  be  really  disadvantageous 
to  the  coast  states?  Consider  this  question  both  from  the 
national  and  from  the  Pacific  Coast  viewpoints. 

3.  How  much  need  is  there  for  additional  immigration  into  the 
United  States  ?  In  what  regard  do  you  feel  the  Orientals  would 
make  desirable  immigrants  and  fill  real  needs?  In  what  re- 
gard would  you  consider  them  undesirable?  From  just  what 
in  the  races  you  would  prohibit  do  you  wish  to  protect  the 
United  States? 

4.  Is  it  possible  and  practicable  to  make  our  laws  relating  to  im- 
migration and  naturalization  apply  to  all  peoples  and  races 
alike  ?  What  advantage  or  disadvantage  would  there  be  if  this 
were  brought  about : 

a.  In  maintaining  friendly  relations  with  all  nations  and 
peoples  ? 

b.  In  securing  the  right  kind  of  immigrants  for  the  best  na- 
tional development  of  America  ? 

c.  In  relieving  pressure  upon  population  in  those  parts  of  the 
world  most  needing  relief? 

5.  Do  you  want  the  United  States  to  have  commercial  relations 


134  AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN   THE  FAR   EAST 

with  these  nations,  the  immigration  of  whose  people  we  pro- 
hibit? If  so,  what  privileges  would  you  ask  for  Americans  in 
the  home-lands  of  these  races?  Are  you  willing  to  have  the 
nations  of  the  Far  East  apply  to  Americans  exactly  the  same 
principles  of  restriction  of  immigration,  residence,  land  owner- 
ship, and  citizenship  that  you  wish  to  apply  to  their  nationals  ? 
Why  or  why  not  ? 

6.     What  attitude  should  America  take  towards  Oriental  immi- 
gration to  Mexico,  Central  America,  and  South  America  ? 

a.  What  danger  is  there,  if  any,  that  groups  of  Japanese  im- 
migrants would  be  manipulated  from  Japan  for  imperialistic 
purposes  ? 

b.  What  right,  if  any,  has  the  United  States  to  protest  against 
the  oncoming  of  land-hungry  folk  from  the  Orient,  in  whatso- 
ever numbers,  provided  they  are  received  by  the  Latin-Ameri- 
can republics  and  do  not  seek  to  establish  spheres  of  Japanese 
political  influence  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Pacific? 

V.  Just  what  processes  are  likely  to  bring  about  on  the  part 
of  Americans  a  worthy  appreciation  of  the  racial  values 
to  be  found  in  the  non-Anglo-Saxon  peoples — and  espe- 
cially in  the  peoples  of  color? 

REFERENCE  MATERIAL 
The  Barrier  between  Asia  and  the  West 

Until  the  student  of  East  and  West  lays  firm  hold  on  the  basic  fact 
that  Asia  is  a  mystery  to  the  West  and  that  the  West  is  a  mystery  to 
Asia,  he  cannot  get  very  far.  When  the  barrier  of  language  is  overcome 
there  is  the  barrier  of  tradition  and  custom,  but  above  all  of  distrust. 
What  is  at  the  root  of  this  distrust?  As  I  have  so  often  written,  the 
distrust  is  a  distrust  of  each  other's  morality,  and,  added  to  it,  the  delusion 
that  the  distrust  is  on  one  side  only.  .  .  . 

America,  which  has  neither  grabbed  nor  tried  to  grab  bits  of  China, 
and  has  returned  indemnities  to  both  Japan  and  China,  has  given  both  of 
them  substantial  tokens  of  good  will  and  disinterestedness.  But  however 
well  placed  geographically,  however  enterprising,  and  however  liberally 
capitalized  American  business  men  may  be ;  spend  money  as  they  may  on 
travelers  and  agencies,  and  advertise  as  they  may,  they  cannot  at  present 
build  soundly  in  the  Far  East  or  in  Asia.  They  cannot  do  it  because 
they  lack  a  firm  foundation.  They  are  building  in  conditions  of  mutual 
distrust  between  Japan  and  America  and  in  uncertain  conditions  in  Japan 
and  China,  India  and  Siberia.  The  commercial  problem  in  the  Far  East, 
in  Asia  generally  is,  then,  first  and  foremost  a  political  and  moral  prob- 


AMERICA'S  ATTITUDE  TO  YELLOW  RACE?      135 

lem.  It  calls  for  that  thorough  knowledge,  that  lively  imagination,  that 
enlightened  sympathy  with  the  position  of  the  other  man  and  how  he  is 
placed,  which  alone  furnish  the  power  to  appeal  with  success  to  the 
conscience,  to  the  honesty  and  sense  of  fair  play,  to  that  decent  human 
feeling  which  is  universal.  Because  the  problem  of  Asia  is  a  mental 
problem  it  must  be  tackled  by  informed  and  thinking  men. — ^J.  W.  Robert- 
son Scott,  Japan  Society  Bulletin,  January  31,  1920. 

The  Significance  of  Color 

Why  is  it  that  one  group  of  foreigners  is  isolated,  tortured,  and 
legislated  out  of  the  country,  while  at  the  same  time  there  are  deliberate 
efforts  to  educate,  adopt  and  assimilate  other  groups  .  .  .  equally  (if  not 
more)  obnoxious?  .  .  .  How  are  we  to  explain  that  there  has  been 
proposed  no  definitively  Slavic  exclusion  or  Latin  exclusion  or  Jewish 
exclusion  law  in  the  United  States  ?  How  is  it  possible  for  the  collective 
mind  of  a  nation  to  discriminate  between  two  communities  of  the  same 
mentality,  same  economic  status,  and  same  socio-civic  outlook  ? 

The  reason  is  not  to  be  sought  in  the  religious  difference  between 
Asia  and  Europe.  For  the  states  as  well  as  the  Federal  Government 
tolerate  every  "ism"  on  earth.  .  .  .  Besides,  in  modern  times  the  laboring 
classes  are  not,  as  a  rule,  fanatical  enough  to  examine  people's  articles  of 
faith  before  entering  on  social  intercourse.  Confucianism,  Buddhism, 
and  Sikhism,  as  such,  are  not  balanced  against  Christianity  or  Judaism  in 
the  mind  of  the  masses  in  the  twentieth  century. 

Do  the  physical  features,  the  physiognomic  expressions,  then,  account 
for  the  differential  treatment  of  the  Asian  and  European  immigrants  by 
the  laborers  and  their  leaders  in  America  ?  One  might  be  tempted  to  say, 
"Yes."  But,  humanly  speaking,  native  Americans  themselves  are  too 
often  familiar  with  the  accidents  of  embryology  to  demand  an  ideal  grace 
of  line  and  proportion  of  limbs  as  the  sine  qua  non  of  friendships,  unions, 
or  communal  gatherings.  And  surely  their  esthetic  repugnance  is  not 
daily  aroused  by  every  instance  of  deviation  from  the  anthropometrically 
perfect  cephalic  index  or  by  every  aberration  from  the  Venus  of  Mclos 
type. 

What,  in  the  last  analysis,  is  the  fundamental  differentium  between 
the  Asian  laborer  and  the  European  laborer?  The  Asian  is  yellow  and 
brown,  the  European  is  albino,  i.  e.,  colorless  or  white.  It  is  the  com- 
plexion of  the  skin  that  is  ultimately  responsible  for  the  exclusion  of  Asia 
from  the  labor  market  of  America.  It  seems  almost  ridiculous  that  so 
much  should  depend  on  so  slight  distinctions. 

Race-prejudice,  especially  as  it  has  developed  in  the  United  States, 
is  at  bottom  practically  tantamount  to  skin-prejudice.  According  to 
humanitarians  this  may  indeed  be  a  regrettable  phenomenon,  but  as  long 
as  it  exists  it  is  impolitic  to  be  blind  to  the  fact  or  minimize  its  social 


136         AMERICA'S   STAKE   IN  THE  FAR   EAST 

significance  and  explain  it  away  by  ethnological  investigations.  It  is  an 
open  question,  moreover,  if  color-prejudice  or  race-prejudice  in  any  of  its 
forms  is  ever  likely  to  disappear  from  the  human  world.  Until,  however, 
the  prejudice  is  removed  or  modified  and  mitigated  by  conscious  educa- 
tional and  social  service  agencies,  it  is  reasonable  to  recognize  that  the 
anti-Asian  animus  of  America  would  remain  a  most  powerful  casus  belli 
between  the  East  and  the  West. — Professor  Benoy  Kumar  Sarkar, 
Bengal,  India,  Journal  of  International  Relations,  July,  1919,  pp.  45-47. 

Here  is  the  real  root  of  the  racial  difficulty  throughout  the  world. 
There  exists  a  widespread  racial  antipathy  founded  on  color — an  animal- 
like instinct,  if  you  will,  but  an  instinct  which  must  remain  in  existence 
until  the  world  becomes  Utopia.  It  is  this  instinct  which  seems  to  forbid 
really  frank  intercourse  and  equal  treatment.  How  this  is  to  be  mini- 
mized in  each  separate  region  should  be  one  of  the  first  studies  of  states- 
men, for  the  day  is  surely  come  when  common  sense  demands  that  the 
line  of  least  resistance  should  be  sought  for  and  gradually  approached. — 
B.  L.  Putnam  Weale,  "The  Conflict  of  Colour,"  pp.  no,  in. 

Racial  Differences 

It  is  not  legitimate  to  argue  from  differences  In  physical  character- 
istics to  differences  in  mental  characteristics.  The  physical  and  mental 
characteristics  observable  in  a  particular  race  are  not  permanent,  modi- 
fiable only  through  ages  of  environmental  pressure;  but  marked  changes 
in  popular  education,  in  public  sentiment,  and  in  environment  generally, 
may,  apart  from  intermarriage,  materially  transform  physical  and  espe- 
cially mental  characteristics  in  a  generation  or  two. 

The  status  of  a  race  at  any  particular  moment  of  time  offers  no  index 
to  its  innate  or  inherited  capacities.  .  .  . 

We  ought  to  combat  the  irreconcilable  contentions  prevalent  among 
all  the  more  important  races  of  mankind  that  their  customs,  their  civiliza- 
tions, and  their  race  are  superior  to  those  of  other  races.  In  explanation 
of  existing  differences  we  would  refer  to  special  needs  arising  from 
peculiar  geographical  and  economic  conditions  and  to  related  divergences 
in  national  history;  and,  in  explanation  of  the  attitude  assumed,  we 
would  refer  to  intimacy  with  one's  own  customs  leading  psychologically 
to  a  love  of  them  and  unfamiliarity  with  others'  customs  tending  to  lead 
psychologically  to  dislike  and  contempt  of  these  latter. 

Differences  in  economic,  hygienic,  moral,  and  educational  standards 
play  a  vital  part  in  estranging  races  which  come  in  contact  with  each 
other.  These  differences,  like  social  differences  generally,  are  in  sub- 
stance almost  certainly  due  to  passing  social  conditions  and  not  to  innate 
racial  characteristics,  and  the  aim  should  be,  as  in  social  differences,  to 
remove  these  rather  than  to  accentuate  them  by  regarding  them  as  fixed. 

The  deepest  cause  of  race  misunderstandings  is  perhaps  the  tacit 


AMERICA'S  ATTITUDE  TO  YELLOW  RACE?      137 

assumption  that  the  present  characteristics  of  a  race  are  the  expression 
of  fixed  and  permanent  racial  characteristics.  If  so,  anthropologists, 
sociologists,  and  scientific  thinkers  as  a  class  could  powerfully  assist  the 
movement  for  a  juster  appreciation  of  races  by  persistently  pointing  out 
in  their  lectures  and  in  their  works  the  fundamental  fallacy  involved  in 
taking  a  static  instead  of  a  dynamic,  a  momentary  instead  of  a  historic,  a 
local  instead  of  a  general,  point  of  view  of  race  characteristics. — G. 
Spiller,  "Papers  on  Interracial  Problems,"  pp.  38,  39. 

A  Single  Problem  for  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  .  .  .  that  England  and  America  and 
the  white  races  generally  should  form  a  serious  judgment  upon  the  course 
they  intend  to  pursue  towards  China  and  the  Chinese.  England  and 
America,  especially,  are  allowing  matters  to  drift  after  a  fashion  that 
can  scarcely  fail  to  be  dangerous.  While  both  are  crying  aloud  for  the 
"open  door"  and  proclaiming  the  necessity  for  Chinese  independence, 
neither  the  British  Empire  nor  the  United  States  is  taking  any  definite 
steps  to  secure  either  the  one  or  the  other.  At  the  same  time  the 
British  Empire,  by  the  action  of  its  colonies  in  Australia  and  British 
Columbia,  and  the  United  States,  by  its  surrender  to  the  agitation  in 
California,  are  putting  themselves  completely  in  the  wrong  by  their  policy 
of  excluding  the  civilized  Mongolians  from  their  respective  countries. 
Especially  is  this  policy  untenable  when  both  powers  are  demanding  the 
fullest  rights  of  entry  and  settlement  in  China  itself  against  the  wishes 
of  the  overwhelming  majority  of  the  Chinese  people.  In  my  opinion  it 
will  be  impossible  in  the  near  future  to  keep  the  yellow  races  permanently 
out  of  British  and  American  territory,  should  they  continue  to  wish  to 
immigrate  and  settle  there.  But  it  is  most  important  that,  if  this  is  really 
the  case,  the  two  nations  most  directly  concerned  in  the  attempted  solu- 
tion of  this  difficult  problem  of  Asiatic  emigration  and  immigration  should 
hold  close  conference  on  the  question.  To  drift  is  to  move  towards  war, 
as  we  have  seen  recently  in  European  affairs. — H.  M.  Hyndman,  "The 
Awakening  of  Asia,"  pp.  197,  198. 

Need  for  a  Sound  Policy 

The  writer  has  everywhere  contended  that  a  real  difficulty  has  arisen 
in  the  new  contact  of  the  East  and  the  West.  California  and  the  Pacific 
Coast  states  are  right  in  contending  that  free  immigration  from  Asia 
would  be  disastrous;  but  so  also  is  Japan  right  in  contending  that 
invidious  and  humiliating  race  legislation  is  not  friendly  or  Christian. 
Some  solution  accordingly  must  be  found  that  recognizes  and  provides 
for  the  right  on  both  sides.  .  .  . 

America  needs  a  sound  policy  for  dealing  comprehensively  and  con- 
structively with  all  the  closely  interrelated  problems,  arising  out  of  our 


138         AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

enormous  and  varied  immigration  legislation,  fitted  to  take  the  place  of 
existing  incomplete,  disconnected,  and  piecemeal  laws  and  methods.  The 
legislation  needed  should  deal  with:  The  regulation  of  immigration;  the 
registration  of  aliens;  the  distribution  of  immigrants;  the  education  of 
aliens  for  American  life ;  the  protection  of  aliens  by  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment; the  naturalization  of  aliens. 

Legislation  dealing  with  these  matters  should  be  controlled  by  the 
following  principles:  (i)  The  United  States  should  so  regulate  and, 
where  necessary,  restrict  immigration  as  to  provide  that  only  so  many 
immigrants  of  each  race  or  people  may  be  admitted  as  can  be  wholesomely 
Americanized.  (2)  The  number  of  those  individuals  of  each  race  or 
people  already  in  the  United  States  who  have  become  Americanized 
affords  the  best  basis  of  the  measure  for  the  further  immigration  of  that 
people.  (3)  American  standards  of  living  should  be  protected  from  the 
dangerous  economic  competition  of  immigrants,  whether  from  Europe  or 
from  Asia.  (4)  Such  provisions  for  the  care  of  aliens  residing  among 
us  should  be  made  as  will  promote  their  rapid  and  genuine  Americaniza- 
tion, and  thus  maintain  intact  our  democratic  institutions  and  national 
unity.  (5)  The  Federal  Government  should  be  empowered  by  Congress 
to  protect  the  lives  and  property  of  aliens.  (6)  All  legislation  dealing 
with  immigration  and  with  resident  aliens  should  be  based  on  justice  and 
good  will,  as  well  as  on  economic  and  political  considerations. — Sidney  L. 
Gulick,  International  Review  of  Reviews,  April,  19 18,  pp.  174,  175. 

The  Question  o£  Inferiority 

The  Japanese  question  illustrates  the  whole  problem  of  immigration 
in  such  a  way  that  it  ought  to  be  studied  carefully  on  both  sides  of  both 
oceans.  Our  Nipponese  friends  seem  to  think  they  are  badged  as  in- 
feriors when  we  express  a  desire  to  exclude  them  from  our  stream  of 
immigration  or  refuse  to  naturalize  them;  and  the  way  in  which  the 
matter  is  discussed  often  seems  to  justify  this  belief  on  their  part. 

But  their  inferiority  or  superiority  is  not  involved  in  the  case  at  all. 
Our  theory  of  immigration  is  that  the  immigrant  is  a  lump  of  humanity 
thrown  into  the  American  melting  pot,  and  that  every  incomer  is  an 
ingredient  which  must  melt  or  fuse  or  it  should  not  be  admitted.  The 
immigrant  must  be  suitable  for  intermarriage  actually  or  potentially  with 
our  people,  so  that  the  pure  strain  of  the  first  generation  will  in  a  few 
generations  disappear  by  dilution.  This  has  happened  with  the  British, 
the  Scotch,  the  Irish,  the  Dutch,  the  Germans,  the  Danes,  the  Swedes, 
the  Norwegians,  the  French,  the  Swiss,  the  Bohemians,  and  the  Poles. 
It  is  only  when  we  reach  the  Italians,  who  are  mainly  recent  comers; 
the  Greeks,  for  the  same  reason;  and  the  Balkan  people  and  those  of 
hither  Asia  that  we  find  the  strains  more  resistant  to  amalgamation  by 
intermarriage.     And  though  intermarriage  is  perhaps  the  most  powerful 


AMERICA'S  ATTITUDE  TO  YELLOW  RACE?      139 

agent  of  amalgamation  there  are  other  traits  growing  out  of  historical 
environment  which  make  amalgamation  more  and  more  difficult  as  we 
draw  our  immigrants  from  points  farther  and  farther  east.  .  .  . 

In  many  respects  the  Japanese  are  superior  to  us.  They  are  in- 
dustrious and  enterprising  and  intelligent,  and  in  the  matter  of  producing 
food  from  the  soil  they  are  superior  to  Americans.  They  are  more  frugal 
than  we,  and  can  live  on  a  smaller  proportion  of  their  product.  The 
Japanese  has  no  difficulty  in  mastering  our  literature  and  our  science. 
But  why  does  he  come  to  America?  To  become  part  of  this  republic? 
To  express  his  admiration  for  us  as  a  people  and  for  our  institutions? 
To  intermarry  and  blend  his  racial  strain  with  the  American  strain? 
And  if  he  really  wished  to  do  these  things — if  he  had  no  racial  pride  and 
no  racial  exclusiveness — is  he  a  man  who  would  be  received  among  us 
and  taken  into  our  racial  blend  by  our  own  people?  It  is  not  a  case  of 
inferiority  or  superiority  on  either  side,  but  of  racial  attractions  and 
racial  repulsions. 

A  bit  of  firebrick  in  the  melting  pot,  too  refractory  to  be  melted — 
such  is  the  Japanese,  and  such  are  many  other  would-be  immigrants. 
Whether  the  fault  be  in  the  nature  of  our  people  or  of  theirs,  the  inter- 
fusion cannot  take  place,  as  it  must  if  this  nation  is  to  live  and  fulfill  its 
democratic  destiny. — Herbert  Quick,  Saturday  Evening  Post,  June  28, 
1919. 

Chinese  Wanted  in  California 

Chinese  workmen  .  .  .  local  opinion  holds,  are  essential  to  give 
California  the  labor  she  needs  for  immediate  industrial  and  agricultural 
requirements.  This  requirement  cannot  be  met  by  her  own  white  popula- 
tion, partly  because  there  is  not  enough  of  it  and  partly  because  the  white 
American  citizens  in  California  are  becoming  less  and  less  inclined  to  do 
all  the  work  that  must  be  done.  .  .  . 

Chinese  are  wanted  because  they  are  more  patient  and  therefore  more 
efficient  workers  than  the  Americans  themselves  in  the  great  gardening 
and  agricultural  expenditures  of  the  state.  The  Chinaman  does  not  care 
how  many  hours  he  stoops  to  do  the  work  that  cannot  be  done  without 
stooping  in  an  asparagus  bed.  He  is  not  overcome  by  the  monotony  of 
picking  fruit  for  somebody  else.  California  is  going  to  try  once  more  to 
get  Chinese  labor.  She  will  urge  Congress  to  suspend  the  exclusion  act 
for  three  years  and  let  a  million  Chinamen  come  in.  They  are  going  to 
be  needed  in  the  new  cotton  fields.  California  is  not  afraid  that  a  great 
mass  of  womanless  Chinamen  will  become  discontented  and  furnish 
converts  to  I.  W.  W.  doctrine.  They  cannot  conceive  of  a  Chinese  Red. 
California  promises  that  if  she  can  have  a  million  Chinese  workers  in  the 
next  three  years  she  will  cut  her  own  cost  of  living  by  thirty-three  per 
cent  and  reduce  the  cost  of  her  products  which  she  ships  to  other  parts  of 


I40  AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

the  country  by  the  same  amount. — Charles  A.  Selden,  New  York  Times, 
January  25,  1920. 

Mr.  Selden's  report  of  California's  desire  to  have  a  million  Chinese 
workers  is  exceedingly  interesting.  Only  thirty  to  forty  years  ago 
California  insisted  that  Chinese  were  intolerable.  Anti-Chinese  agitation 
led  at  times  to  extreme  violence. 

Yet  now  important  Californians  are  actually  advocating  the  admit- 
tance of  a  million  Chinese  coolies — because  they  would  be  so  docile, 
obedient,  without  family  encumbrances,  and  without  ambition  to  own 
land  or  do  business  on  an  independent  competitive  basis!  If  their  pro- 
posals should  be  accepted  and  the  needed  laws  be  passed  by  Congress, 
the  writer  has  no  doubt  that  in  less  than  a  decade  the  disastrous  conse- 
quences of  that  policy  would  be  evident  and  a  new  and  bitter  anti- 
Chinese  agitation  would  arise. — Sidney  L.  Gulick,  New  York  Times, 
February  8,  1920. 

Economic  Advantages  of  the  Japanese  in  America 

The  real  objection  to  the  Japanese  is  that  he  is  willing  to  accept  life 
and  labor  on  less  favorable  terms  than  we  are.  If  he  stays  he  gets  our 
job,  our  farm,  our  place  in  the  sun,  by  the  working  of  an  inexorable 
economic  law,  and  the  instinct  of  self-preservation  compels  us  to  resist. 
The  more  of  a  case  we  can  make  out  against  him,  the  easier  it  is  to  rouse 
the  necessary  spirit  of  opposition.  So  he  is  "dishonest,"  "tricky,"  "un- 
American,"  "immoral" — objections  too  often  urged  by  those  not  qualified 
to  cast  the  first  stone,  and  not  more  true  of  him  than  of  other  men.  But 
the  one  thing  that  is  true  and  that  is  enough,  if  not  to  justify  our  opposi- 
tion, at  least  to  create  it  among  any  virile  people  on  earth,  is  the  fact 
that  he  can  underbid  us  and  so  displace  us  and  take  our  birthright. 
Perhaps  this  does  not  justify  us  in  excluding  him,  but  the  point  is  not 
worth  discussing.  We  shall  exclude  him — if  we  can. — ^H.  H.  Powers, 
"America  among  the  Nations,"  pp.  218,  219. 

The  Oriental  Influx  into  Latin  America 

"When  you  have  filled  up  Korea  and  Manchuria,"  I  said  to  Count 
Okuma  in  Tokyo  the  day  after  the  annexation  of  Korea,  "whither  will 
the  increase  of  your  people  go?  Your  population  tends  to  double  every 
thirty  or  forty  years,  and  Japan  is  crowded.  Will  you  not  be  obliged  to 
quarrel  with  France  for  Indo-China,  with  England  for  Australia,  or  with 
the  United  States  for  the  Philippines  ?" 

"No,"  replied  the  veteran  statesman  and  sage;  "South  America, 
especially  the  northern  part,  will  furnish  ample  room  for  our  surplus." 

I  recalled  his  prophecy  when  I  noted  how  the  Japanese  are  sifting 
into  Peru.  The  statesmen  of  the  west  coast  [of  South  America]  lie 
awake  nights  dreading  lest  the  Orient  should  overflow  in  their  direction. 


AMERICA'S  ATTITUDE  TO  YELLOW  RACE?      141 

They  may  exclude  the  Chinese  for  the  present;  but  every  one  foresees 
that  new  China  will  in  time  launch  a  navy,  and  will  then  be  able  to  exact 
for  Chinese  the  same  treatment  that  other  immigrants  receive.  As  for 
the  Japanese,  no  South  American  government  or  possible  combination  of 
governments  dares  discriminate  against  them.  Japan's  navy  is  too 
strong  for  the  South  American  navies. 

This  Asiatic  anxiety  is  not  confined  to  the  countries  fronting  on  the 
Pacific.  The  nations  of  the  east  coast,  from  Venezuela  to  Argentina, 
realize  that  it  will  not  be  long  .  .  .  before  Oriental  immigration  becomes 
a  problem  for  them,  as  it  already  is  for  the  west  coast.  Not  long  ago  the 
immigration  authorities  at  Buenos  Aires,  confronted  unexpectedly  with 
a  shipload  of  Hindus,  promptly  turned  them  back  as  "undesirable." 
Their  action  was  high-handed,  for  there  is  nothing  in  the  immigration 
laws  of  Argentina  to  warrant  discrimination  against  Asiatics,  but  it  met 
with  general  approval. 

Provided  that  no  barrier  be  interposed  to  the  inflow  from  "man- 
stifled"  Asia,  it  is  well  within  the  bounds  of  probability  that  by  the  close 
of  this  century  South  America  will  be  the  home  of  twenty  or  thirty 
millions  of  Orientals  and  descendants  of  Orientals.  .  .  . 

But  Asiatic  immigration  of  such  volume  would  change  profoundly 
the  destiny  of  South  America.  For  one  thing,  it  would  forestall  and 
frustrate  that  great  immigration  of  Europeans  which  South  American 
statesmen  are  counting  on  to  relieve  their  countries  from  mestizo  un- 
progressiveness  and  misgovernment.  The  white  race  would  withhold  its 
increase  or  look  elsewhere  for  outlets ;  for  those  with  the  higher  standard 
of  comfort  always  shun  competition  with  those  of  a  lower  standard. 
Again,  large  areas  of  South  America  might  cease  to  be  parts  of  Christen- 
dom. Some  of  the  republics  there  might  come  to  be  as  dependent  upon 
Asiatic  powers  as  the  Cuban  republic  is  dependent  upon  the  United  States. 

In  any  case,  an  Asiatic  influx  would  seal  the  doom  of  the  Indian 
element  in  these  countries.  The  Indians  have  excellent  possibilities,  but 
it  will  take  at  least  three  generations  of  popular  education  and  equal 
opportunity  to  enable  them  to  realize  these  possibilities.  At  present  they 
are  depressed,  ignorant,  and  unprogressive.  Outside  the  larger  towns, 
virtually  nothing  is  being  done  for  their  children,  who  will  grow  into 
men  and  women  just  as  benighted  and  hopeless  as  their  parents.  As  they 
now  are,  the  Indians  could  make  no  effective  economic  stand  against  the 
wide-awake,  resourceful,  and  aggressive  Japanese  or  Chinese.  The 
Oriental  immigrants  could  beat  the  Indians  at  every  point,  block  every 
path  upward,  and  even  turn  them  out  of  most  of  their  present  employ- 
ments. In  great  part  the  Indians  would  become  a  cringing  .  .  .  caste, 
tilling  the  poorer  lands  and  confined  to  the  menial  or  repulsive  occupa- 
tions. Filled  with  despair,  and  abandoning  themselves  even  more  than 
they  now  do  to  pisco  and  coca,  they  would  shrivel  into  a  numerically 
negligible  element  in  the  population. 


142         AMERICA'S   STAKE   IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

Strange  to  say,  whether  such  is  to  be  their  fate  depends  upon  the 
policy  of  the  United  States;  for  this  is  the  only  power  in  the  Western 
hemisphere  strong  enough  to  "speak  in  the  gate"  with  the  armed  Japan  of 
today  or  the  armed  China  of  tomorrow.  When  the  South  American  coun- 
tries, especially  those  of  the  west  coast,  beseech  the  United  States  to 
back  them  up  in  discriminating  against  Asiatic  immigrants,  we  shall  face 
a  decision  of  tremendous  import  to  mankind ;  namely,  whether  or  not  the 
Monroe  Doctrine  shall  not  only  protect  the  South  American  republics 
against  the  Old  World  powers,  but  shall  also  be  held  as  a  buckler  between 
the  South  American  peoples  and  the  teeming  Orient.  Then  we  shall  be 
obliged  to  consider,  for  one  thing,  whether  the  race  possibilities  of  the 
millions  of  upland  Indians  are  such  as  to  warrant  our  shielding  them  for 
a  time  from  the  annihilating  competition  of  the  capable  Orientals. — E.  A. 
Ross,  "South  of  Panama,"  pp.  91-93. 

Most  of  Latin  America  is  tropical  and  therefore  little  suited 
to  Japanese  colonization.  Very  much  of  it  is  peopled  by  an  in- 
ferior race,  and  is  therefore  a  field  for  exploitation  rather  than  for 
colonization,  for  the  same  reasons  that  hold  in  China  and  Korea.  The 
most  attractive  part  of  it,  on  the  other  hand,  is  in  the  possession  of 
Europeans  who  will  almost  inevitably  have  the  Anglo-Saxon's  reasons 
for  excluding  the  Oriental.  Possibly  Mexico  offers  the  most  favorable 
opportunity,  and  possibly  here  or  elsewhere  in  Latin  America  Japanese 
settlement  may  be  attempted. 

Curiously  enough,  even  here  the  Anglo-Saxon  interposes  his  veto. 
There  can  be  no  question  that  the  American  people  would  look  with 
extreme  disfavor  upon  the  establishment  of  Japanese  colonies  anywhere 
in  the  Western  hemisphere  and  especially  in  any  proximity  to  our  own 
boundaries.  Nothing  could  at  first  sight  seem  more  churlish  than  this 
attitude  of  universal  opposition  to  the  Oriental.  Not  content  with  keep- 
ing him  out  of  our  own  territory,  we  threaten  to  pursue  him  far  beyond 
it.  We  segregate  him  as  we  do  the  pestilence,  drawing  our  cordon 
around  his  narrow  domain.  .  .  .  We  object  to  the  Japanese  in  California 
on  economic  and  social  grounds.  In  Mexico  that  objection  does  not  hold. 
If  the  Mexicans  do  not  object  to  Japanese  competition,  that  is  quite  their 
affair.    We  do  not  object  to  the  Japanese  in  Mexico. 

But  we  do  object  to  Japan  in  Mexico.  If  we  knew  that  the  Japanese 
settler  in  Latin  America  did  not  in  any  sense  bring  his  country  with  him, 
that  he  would  never  claim  its  aid  and  it  would  never  claim  his  allegiance, 
any  objection  on  our  part  to  his  settling  there  would  be  an  unpardonable 
impertinence.  But  there  is  an  increasing  tendency  on  the  part  of  modern 
nations  to  retain  the  allegiance  of  those  born  under  their  flag,  who  take  up 
their  abode  in  other  lands.  The  doctrine  that  the  fatherland  has  a  per- 
petual claim  upon  the  allegiance  of  its  sons,  even  when  permanently 
domiciled  under  a  foreign  flag,  has  been  asserted  of  late  with  growing 


AMERICA'S  ATTITUDE  TO  YELLOW  RACE?      143 

emphasis,  and  has  given  to  emigration  a  sinister  political  significance.  A 
settlement  of  aliens,  therefore,  becomes  a  foreign  outpost  and  potentially 
a  foreign  fortress.  All  this  is  perfectly  in  keeping  with  the  instinct  of 
nationality.  .  .  .  There  is  something  that  is  dearer  than  the  welfare  of 
the  individual — dearer  to  those  who  stay,  and  dearer  to  those  who  go — 
and  that  is  the  welfare  of  the  nation  and  of  the  culture  and  life  of  the 
race.  It  is  a  degenerate  and  unworthy  people  that  can  expatriate  itself 
without  a  pang — without  serious  reservations.  As  the  culture  and  spir- 
itual life  of  the  race  find  more  and  more  perfect  expression  in  the  develop- 
ing organ  of  the  nation,  we  must  expect  the  nation  to  make  an  ever 
stronger  appeal  to  the  individual  whose  spiritual  heritage  it  holds  in  its 
keeping.  We  must  expect,  too,  that  the  nation,  ever  more  delicately 
equipped,  will  grapple  to  itself  with  hooks  of  steel  all  those  who  can 
serve  its  purpose  in  the  strenuous  competition  of  civilization  with  civil- 
ization. Each  culture  will  claim  its  own  and  seek  its  own  over  land  and 
sea. — H.  H.  Powers,  "America  among  the  Nations,"  pp.  219-221. 

Two  Warnings  to  America 

There  are  two  warnings  we  should  take  to  heart  with  utmost  serious- 
ness. 

One  of  them  is  that  we  must  face  our  special  problems  in  a  spirit 
broadly  fair  and  international.  We  must  shape  our  relations  with 
Mexico,  with  Latin  America,  with  China  and  Japan,  in  a  spirit  of  true 
and  full  Christian  internationalism,  seeking  no  selfish  advantage,  de- 
termined to  do  as  we  would  be  done  by — asking  not  what  we  have  the 
power  to  do,  nor  what  is  to  our  interest  to  do,  nor  even  what  we  have 
the  right  to  do,  but  what  our  international  duty  may  be,  how  we  may 
best  insure  justice  and  good  will  in  increasing  measure  throughout  our 
relations  with  these  nations  that  touch  us  most  nearly,  and  that  watch 
us  with  that  jealous  care  inevitable  when  one  knows  that  another  is 
stronger  than  himself  and  is  not  quite  sure  that  he  is  just  and  generous. 
We  must  fear  to  inflict  injury  even  more  than  to  suffer  it;  we  must  covet 
the  respect  paid  to  just  and  generous  character  even  more  than  the 
respect  yielded  to  obvious  power;  we  must  be,  in  all  our  relations,  con- 
spicuous for  that  Christian  internationalism  for  which  we  have  fought 
against  Germany. 

The  second  warning  is  that  we  citizens  of  America  must  look  for- 
ward and  not  back.  We  have  set  our  hand  to  the  plow.  To  look  back 
is  to  prove  ourselves  unfit  for  the  Kingdom.  To  fail  to  go  to  the  end 
of  the  furrow  is  to  be  unworthy  of  our  past  heritage  and  of  our  present 
position.  There  is  danger  that  ...  we  shall  be  content  to  lapse  into  our 
isolation  again,  shall  make  a  fetich  of  Washington's  warning  against 
"entangling  alliances,"  shall  be  content  to  make  America  great  and 
forget  to  make  America  the  great  servant  of  mankind. — ^William  P. 
Merrill,  "Christian  Internationalism,"  pp.  92,  93. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
WHO  WILL  CONTROL  THE  PACIFIC  BASIN? 

I.  Who  will  control  the  Pacific  Basin  from  the  point  of  view 

of  the  carrying  trade? 

1.  Would  you  prefer  to  invest  money  at  this  time  in  American, 
British,  or  Japanese  shipping  ?     Why  ? 

2.  Which  nation  seems  hkely  to  have  the  largest  interest  in  the 
carrying  trade  of  the  Pacific  ? 

a.  Which  can  produce  the  ships  to  best  advantage  ? 

b.  Which  can  best  man  the  ships  ? 

3.  Do  you  or  do  you  not  wish  to  see  America  achieve  supremacy 
in  the  Pacific  carrying  trade  once  more  ?     Why  ?    Why  not  ? 

II.  Who  will  control  the  Pacific  Basin  from  the  point  of  view 

of  naval  supremacy? 

1.  Which  nation  has  the  most  advantageous  positions  with  re- 
spect to  home  shores  and  the  distribution  of  possible  naval 
bases  ? 

2.  Which  nation  is  in  the  strongest  position  with  respect  to  need- 
ful material  for  naval  construction  work  ? 

3.  Which  has  the  greatest  stakes  in  people  and  realms  which 
might  seem  to  require  naval  protection  ? 

4.  Would  you  like  to  see  the  American  fleet  in  the  Pacific  in- 
creased in  strength  ?  Why  ?  Why  not  ?  What  would  you  like 
to  see  done  with  it  ? 

III.  Who  will  control  the  Pacific  Basin  commercially  and 

industrially  ? 

1.  Which  nations  have  the  richest  stores  of  raw  material  as  a 
basis  of  manufacture  and  world  commerce? 

2.  Which  is  most  likely  to  develop  the  technical  processes  neces- 
sary to  great  industrial  and  trade  expansion  ? 

3.  Which  is  showing  the  finest  development  of  social  and 
economic  justice  for  the  working  classes  as  a  basis  for  future 
industrial  peace  and  high  productive  power? 

144 


WHO  WILL  CONTROL  THE  PACIFIC  BASIN?      145 

4.  Which  has  the  greatest  supply  of  cheap  labor? 

5.  Just  what  ambitions  do  you  have  for  American  participation 
in  the  developing  trade  in  the  Pacific  area  ?    Why  ? 

IV.  Who  will  dominate  the  Pacific  Basin  culturally? 

1.  Is  the  Occidental  or  the  Oriental  type  of  culture  likely  to 
become  dominant  throughout  the  Pacific  area?    Why? 

2.  Are  the  two  types  of  culture  likely  long  to  retain  practically 
all  their  respective  outstanding  differences,  because  of  racial 
inertia  and  the  lack  of  close  contacts  between  any  considerable 
groups  of  yellow  and  white  inhabitants? 

3.  Is  there  likely  to  be  a  fairly  rapid  interpenetration  of  the 
varying  cultural  standards  and  ideas,  each  borrowing  from  the 
other,  as  travel  and  the  intercommunication  of  ideas  increase? 

V.  Will  geography  or  race  be  likely  to  be  the  more  influential 

on  the  trend  of  history  in  this  general  area? 

1.  To  what  extent  is  history  likely  to  be  conditioned  by  funda- 
mental geographical  facts,  such  as  mountain  ranges,  a  broad 
ocean,  favorable  or  unfavorable  ocean  currents,  island  groups, 
temperate,  tropical,  or  frigid  zonal  conditions,  and  natural 
resources  ? 

2.  To  what  extent  is  it  likely  to  be  conditioned  by  national  and 
racial  ideals,  prejudices,  abilities,  and  purposes? 

VI.  Just  what  should  be  the  attitude  of  America  toward  the 

control  of  the  Pacific  Basin? 

1 .  Just  how  does  this  question  affect  America  ? 

2.  Of  the  various  elements  which  seem  to  you  to  enter  into  the 
process  of  getting  and  maintaining  such  a  control,  which  would 
you  regard  as  of  most  importance?  Which  as  of  the  greatest 
present  urgency? 

3.  What,  in  .your  judgment,  would  be  a  reasonable  share  for  the 
United  States  to  have  in  the  control  of  the  Pacific?  How  far 
do  we  now  have  such  a  share? 

4.  Should  the  United  States  seek  its  fair  share  in  the  control  of 
the  Pacific  through  competition  or  through  cooperation  with 
other  powers?  If  through  competition,  what  powers  are  likely 
to  be  our  chief  competitors?  Why?  If  through  cooperation, 
then  with  what  powers  ?    Why  ? 


146         AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

VII.  If  you  wish  to  preserve  the  best  in  American  life  for  the 

period  of  your  lifetime  and  that  of  your  children,  just 
what  civilization-insurance  would  you  seek  to  provide 
within  the  Pacific  Basin? 

VIII.  What  hope  is  there  that  Christianity,  originating  in 
Asia,  and  now  long  the  dominant  type  of  religion  in  the 
West,  will  be  accepted  and  become  dominant  also  in  the 
Far  East? 

1.  What  contribution  to  the  life  of  America  seems  to  you  to  have 
been  made  by  Christianity  ? 

2.  Has  Christianity  been  fairly  put  to  the  test  in  America  as  a 
basis  for  the  religious  life  of  the  nation? 

3.  Just  what  needs  of  the  peoples  of  the  Far  East  seem  to  you 
most  likely  to  be  met  through  the  acceptance  of  the  Christian 
faith? 

4.  What  is  your  expectation  with  reference  to  the  progress  of 
Christianity  in  the  Far  East?  What  are  likely  to  prove  the 
greatest  obstacles  to  its  acceptance? 

5.  In  what  measure  do  you  feel  that  such  progress  should  be 
promoted  through  missionary  agencies  and  activities  ? 

REFERENCE  MATERIAL 
America  and  the  Trans-Pacific  Carrying  Trade 

Japan  has,  perhaps  more  than  any  of  the  other  Allies,  taken  ad- 
vantage of  the  War  to  further  her  own  political  and  economic  interests. 
She  has  resisted  attempts  of  the  War  Trade  Board  to  place  restrictions 
on  her  imports  to  the  United  States,  and  has  driven  shrewd  bargains  with 
the  Shipping  Board  for  vessels  purchased  from  Japanese  yards.  In 
particular,  Japanese  lines  have  almost  monopolized  the  carrying  trade  of 
the  Pacific.  American  vessels  were  transferred  to  the  Atlantic  because 
of  the  larger  profits  to  be  earned  in  the  war  zone,  and  British  vessels 
were  withdrawn  from  the  Canadian  and  Oriental  routes  because  of  the 
war  needs  of  Europe.  In  this  situation  the  Japanese  have  extended  their 
carrying  trade  at  the  expense  of  both  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States. 
Without  any  corresponding  increase  in  the  cost  of  operation,  they  have 
benefited  by  the  enormous  increase  in  freight  rates.  Their  lines  have 
prospered  and  expanded,  and  a  powerful  group  of  new  shipping  million- 
aires has  arisen  in  Japan. 

With  the  return  of  normal  conditions,  the  United  States  will  unques- 
tionably wish  to  utilize  part  of  her  merchant  marine  in  trade  with  the 
Orient.    The  shipyards  on  the  Pacific  Coast  are  turning  out  a  large 


WHO  WILL  CONTROL  THE  PACIFIC  BASIN?      147 

tonnage,  and  vigorous  efforts  will  be  made  in  that  section  of  the  country 
to  employ  a  considerable  number  of  these  vessels  in  trade  that  will  develop 
the  Western  seaports.  The  Japanese  will  no  doubt  try  to  retain  the 
favorable  position  they  now  occupy  in  the  carrying  trade  of  our  Pacific 
Coast. — Raymond  Garfield  Gettell,  Atlantic  Monthly,  February,  1919,  pp. 
255,  262. 

Most  of  our  fears  of  competition  on  the  Pacific  are  based  on  the 
past — conditions  which  we  had  to  meet  before  America  woke  up.  The 
future,  with  America  fully  awake  in  all  her  strength  and  energy,  is  bring- 
ing us  a  great  modern  ocean  transportation  plan,  something  which  cannot 
be  measured  by  anything  in  the  past.  It  is  not  competitive  trade  that  we 
are  going  into  but  creative  trade — the  systematic  development  of  custom- 
ers and  service  on  regular  trade  routes  through  salesmanship,  banking, 
investment  abroad,  and  the  development  of  other  nations'  resources  for 
their  benefit  as  well  as  our  own.  And  it  will  be  trade,  not  so  much  in 
competition  with  the  cheap  labor  of  Oriental  countries,  as  in  helping 
them  to  reach  the  higher  living  standards  which  they  so  much  need,  and 
which  are  already  beginning  to  be  realized  in  the  case  of  Japan,  which 
has  made  the  best  start  in  industrial  development. — Edward  N.  Hurley, 
Asia,  November,  1918,  p.  909. 

Japan  in  International  Trade 

As  she  [Japan]  becomes  more  and  more  conscious  of  the  similarity 
of  her  position  to  that  of  Britain,  she  naturally  inquires  where  the 
British  live  who  back  this  tremendous  power  and  on  what  fields  they  reap 
their  harvests.  The  answer  is  the  sea.  The  British  red  upon  the  map 
tinges  the  ocean's  blue  from  pole  to  pole  and  drowns  all  other  tints.  Upon 
the  sea  many  millions  of  Britons  win  their  livelihood,  and  here  are 
invested  thousands  of  millions  of  British  capital  whose  dividends  put 
the  world  under  tribute  to  Britain.  Why  may  not  Japan  share  this 
opportunity?  This  is,  in  fact,  her  most  hopeful  outlook  and  her  most 
immediate  ambition.  It  is  one,  too,  which  we  have  unintentionally  done 
all  we  could  to  help  her  to  realize.  .  .  .  We  have  enacted  legislation 
which  has  handed  our  Pacific  commerce  to  Japan  on  a  silver  platter.  The 
commerce  of  Japan  has  gone  forward  by  leaps  and  bounds,  profiting 
enormously  by  her  shrewd  rather  than  disinterested  attitude  in  the  present 
struggle.  Her  vast  fleet,  supplerpented  by  recent  acquisitions  from  our 
own,  is  kept  in  safe  and  lucrative  employment  which  it  will  doubtless 
continue  to  enormous  advantage  in  the  early  years  of  peace.  There 
seems  to  be  no  reason  why  Japan  should  not  dominate,  not  to  say  monopo- 
lize, the  trans-Pacific  commerce. — H.  H.  Powers,  "America  among  the 
Nations,"  p.  234. 

Japan  has  everything  in  her  favor  for  immediate  achievement  in  the 
Pacific  Ocean ;  she  has  an  overflowing  population  with  a  high  birth  rate ; 


148         AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

she  has  the  singular  advantage  of  entering  upon  a  new  career  in  the  wide 
world  with  the  heredity  and  faculties  and  sinews  of  a  vigorous  past 
career;  in  this  she  is  like  a  tree  that  has  been  kept  pot-bound  till  its 
roots  have  absorbed  most  of  its  vitality  and  is  then  transferred  to  an 
unlimited  range  of  soil  in  the  open — it  is  bound  to  luxuriate  in  its  new 
sphere.  Japan  is  both  old  and  young;  she  has  her  roots  far  into  a 
distinguished  past  and  she  is  stretching  out  in  all  directions,  as  capable 
of  development  and  as  full  of  ambitions  as  a  youth  just  entering  on  the 
world.  Still  more,  she  has  a  great  continent  beside  her  to  exploit,  a  great 
market  for  her  goods,  and  a  great  quarry  of  labor.  But  perhaps  the 
most  striking  feature  of  reborn  Japan  is  her  passion  for  education  and 
especially  for  Western  education. 

Were  Japan  to  jettison  that  Prussian  model  of  government  which  she 
deliberately  adopted  at  her  revolution  not  much  more  than  a  generation 
ago,  she  would  go  far  to  remove  all  suspicion  of  her  designs  in  the 
Pacific  and  all  fear  of  her  following  in  the  footsteps  of  her  model. — 
J.  MacMillan  Brown,  LL.D.,  Vice-Chancellor  of  the  University  of  New 
Zealand,  Journal  of  Race  Development,  April,  1919,  pp.  369-371. 

China's  Bearing  on  the  Future  o£  the  Pacific 

The  Pacific  Ocean  is  becoming  the  center  of  human  interest  and 
commercial  activity,  and  China  with  her  four  hundred  million  people, 
is  its  true  axis.  From  whatever  undermines  China's  independence  and 
integrity  the  United  States  cannot  hope  to  escape  unaffected.  For  with 
their  economic  progress  and  their  advance  as  a  Pacific  power,  and  also 
as  a  nation  determined  to  keep  alive  the  spirit  and  forms  of  democracy  in 
the  world,  the  future  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  American  people  are 
bound  up  in  the  satisfactory  solution  of  the  present  precarious  situation  in 
the  Far  East,  more  particularly  in  China.  .  .  . 

If  in  solving  the  Chinese  Question  the  great  Allied  countries  choose 
to  continue  the  old  selfish  and  disruptive  policy  of  subjugating  China  and 
exploiting  her  for  their  own  chief  benefit,  thereby  keeping  her  in  a  state 
of  political  and  economic  semi-paralysis,  rather  than  to  apply  the  prin- 
ciples which  they  all  have  been  vociferous  in  announcing  as  their  objects 
in  the  War,  then  China  will  surely  be  the  scene  of  approaching  com- 
mercial jealousies  among  nations,  the  arena  of  coming  diplomatic 
wrangles,  and  the  seat  of  future  world  wars.  If,  instead  of  being  handled 
justly  and  equitably,  the  problem  is  simply  glossed  over,  as  of  old,  with 
the  fallacious  and  mischievous  idea  widely  prevalent  among  foreigners 
that  anything  "goes"  in  China  and  that  anything  will  do  for  the 
Chinese,  the  evil  day  cannot  be  long  averted.  Now  that  the  War  is  over 
the  acid  test  will  be  applied  to  all  professions  of  disinterestedness  and 
humanity.  .  .  . 

The  destiny  of  China  and  the  future  peace  of  the  Far  East,  and 


WHO  WILL  CONTROL  THE  PACIFIC  BASIN?      149 

hence  of  the  world,  lie  in  the  decision  of  the  big  treaty  powers  as  to 
their  policy  vis-a-vis  the  young  Oriental  republic.  Their  choice  is  a 
simple  one.  They  may  choose  to  obstruct  and  destroy,  as  they  have  been 
doing  since  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  or  they  may  choose  to  restore 
and  cooperate,  as  the  new  world  order  demands.  The  first  violates  and 
cripples  China's  autonomy,  diminishing  her  power  of  resistance  against 
the  constant  foreign  aggressions,  aiming  at  her  subjugation  and  at  the 
wresting  of  exclusive  commercial  privileges  within  her  territory,  and  so 
leads  to  the  clash  of  antagonistic  ambitions  and  designs  among  the 
powers.  The  second  stimulates  the  development  of  China  into  a  strong 
and  progressive  nation,  capable  of  holding  her  own  position  in  the  world 
and  of  maintaining,  without  outside  help,  the  open-door  policy  of  equal 
opportunity  for  all,  thereby  eliminating  international  jealousies  and 
intrigues  from  the  Far  East.  The  one  creates  international  rancor  and 
race  hatred,  and  is  destructive  alike  of  foreign  trade  and  other  foreign 
intercourse.  The  other  is  conducive  to  good  will  and  comity  among 
nations,  and  permits  the  unlimited  expansion  of  all  foreign  intercourse, 
commercial  and  otherwise.  The  one  is  productive  of  evil,  the  other  of 
good.  The  one  leads  to  war,  the  other  to  peace.  The  one  is  for  the 
misery  and  downfall  of  mankind,  the  other  for  its  happiness  and  advance- 
ment. Which  shall  it  be?  Obstruction  and  Destruction,  or  Restoration 
and  Cooperation? — Cheng  Su  See,  "The  Foreign  Trade  of  China,"  pp. 
383,  385,  387,  388. 

Control  of  the  Pacific  Ocean 

Few  political  questions  have  been  more  befuddled  by  shibboleths  than 
those  of  the  Orient  and  the  Pacific.  The  Pacific  is  the  largest  ocean.  Its 
"mastery"  has  a  Nietzschian  flavor  that  is  compelling.  But  let  us 
analyze  it. 

In  time  of  peace  it  is  hard  to  conceive  of  any  mastery  of  an  ocean 
except  on  the  part  of  the  nation  that  ships  the  most  goods  across  it. 
It  is  the  goods,  not  the  nationality  of  the  carriers,  that  counts.  American 
commerce  all  over  the  world  before  the  European  war,  was  great  and 
increasing,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  it  was  carried  largely  in  foreign 
bottoms.  The  Japanese  have  recently  awakened  to  the  fact  that  their 
heavily  subsidized  Pacific  steamship  lines  carry  the  larger  percentage  of 
their  freight,  not  from  Japanese  ports,  but  from  Hongkong,  China,  to 
America  and  back,  so  that,  as  their  subsidy  covers  a  prospective  loss, 
they  are  taxing  themselves  for  the  empty  glory  of  carrying  foreign  goods 
under  the  Japanese  flag ! 

It  is  otherwise,  of  course,  in  time  of  war.  The  United  States  has 
discovered  to  its  consternation  that  its  trade  may  suffer  from  lack  of 
American  ships.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  real  analogy  between 
Europe  and  Asia,  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific.    It  is  possible  for  England 


I50         AMERICA'S   STAKE   IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

with  her  powerful  fleet  and  the  possession  of  Gibraltar  and  the  English 
Channel  in  a  measure  to  control  the  Atlantic  so  far  as  Germany  is  con- 
cerned. Such  a  condition  would  be  out  of  the  question  in  the  vast 
expanse  of  the  Pacific.  The  exploits  of  the  will-o'-the-wisp  Emden  in 
the  autumn  of  1914  are  a  striking  commentary  upon  the  inability  of  the 
great  Japanese  fleet  adequately  to  patrol  that  waste  of  waters.  No 
nation  can  dominate  the  Pacific,  so  long  as  any  other  nation  can  maintain 
a  fleet  there. — ^J.  F.  Abbott,  "Japanese  Expansion  and  American  Policies," 
PP-  95-97- 

The  Far  Eastern  and  Pacific  situation  are  intimately  linked  into  a 
single  problem,  which,  from  being  a  race  for  commercial  and  colonial 
expansion  in  the  early  nineteenth  century,  has  with  the  first  years  of  the 
new  century  become  a  question  of  which  the  dominating  factor  is  Japan 
and  Japanese  interests,  in  conflict  with  those  of  various  Western  nations 
in  the  course  of  their  trade  expansions  in  that  region. 

The  dynamic  elements  of  that  situation  are:  the  vast  agglomeration 
of  buyers  called  China ;  the  approaches  to  that  still  unpreempted  market 
of  supposedly  unlimited  absorptive  capacity;  the  exigencies  of  national 
defense  imposed  upon  Japan  by  her  geographical  conditions;  and  her 
necessity  of  securing  her  position  against  any  pressure  which  the  West 
could  bring  to  bear,  to  force  the  subordination  of  her  own  vital  economic 
interests  to  those  of  other  nations.  .  .  . 

The  Monroe  Doctrine  and  the  defenses  of  the  United  States'  shores, 
the  shores  included  within  the  limits  set  by  that  doctrine,  the  western  and 
eastern  shores  of  both  Americas,  and  the  island  character  of  that  land 
[Japan]  demand  that  the  United  States  do  not  consider  the  shores  of 
the  Americas  as  the  limits,  but  that  the  limits  of  the  dominion  com- 
promised by  that  doctrine  are  the  shores  of  the  continents  to  the  east 
and  west,  imposing  upon  the  United  States  the  necessity  of  controlling 
the  Atlantic  in  the  east  and  the  Pacific  in  the  west.  That  control  is  the 
conditio  sine  qua  non  of  the  enforcement  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine. — 
Prince  Lazarovich  Hrebelianovich,  "The  Orient  Question,"  pp.  202,  203, 
245,  246. 

The  Conflict  o£  Civilizations 

At  this  juncture  the  East,  with  its  swarming  hordes  living  a  listless 
life  from  century  to  century,  and  the  West  with  its  energetic,  individual- 
istic impulses,  but  without  any  consistent  philosophy  of  civilization,  meet 
face  to  face.  That  this  threatens  to  accentuate  the  reactionary  forces, 
to  strengthen  autocracy  and  brute  force,  |ind  to  weaken  everything  that 
bases  itself  on  reason,  reflection,  and  individual  right  is  natural  and 
evident.  While  some  presaging  spirits  cherish  the  hope  that  Eastern 
thought  will  yield  a  harmonizing  principle  to  the  life  of  the  West,  others 
abandon  themselves  to  the  fear  that  we  are  destined  to  be  driven  back 


WHO  WILL  CONTROL  THE  PACIFIC  BASIN?      151 

into  another  period  of  darkness  in  which  intelligence  will  slumber  and 
brute  force  reign  supreme. 

The  unfavorable  influences  that  are  to  be  expected  from  Oriental 
civilization  may  be  summarized  briefly  as  follows :  a  pessimistic  view  of 
life;  an  undervaluing  of  individual  rights  and  the  power  of  individual 
initiative;  a  caste  spirit  which  looks  upon  men  as  mere  incomplete  por- 
tions of  a  larger  unity  in  which  their  existence  is  entirely  swallowed  up ; 
the  degradation  of  women,  whom  Western  ideals  have  placed  on  an 
equal  intellectual  and  moral  footing  with  men;  a  lack  of  sympathy;  .  .  . 
and  absolutism.  It  is  paradoxical  that,  with  all  its  individualism,  the 
West  is,  nevertheless,  more  sympathetic  than  the  East.  This  sympathy  is 
largely  a  result  of  the  Christian  religion ;  for  before  the  growth  of  Chris- 
tianity the  Roman  world  was  dominated  by  the  Stoic  spirit,  to  which  pity 
for  the  sufferings  of  fellow-beings  was  entirely  foreign.  Throughout  the 
Orient,  man  is  singularly  apathetic  and  untouched  by  the  woes  of  his 
fellows.  It  may  be  said,  indeed,  by  apologists  of  Eastern  thought,  that 
sympathy  merely  increases  human  suffering  a  thousand-fold  by  making 
every  individual  carry  the  burdens  of  thousands  of  fellow-sufferers,  and 
that  it  leads  to  a  perpetuation  of  deformities  and  disease  by  protecting 
from  extirpation  the  victims  of  these  evils.  Even  so,  it  cannot  be  doubted 
that,  when  we  come  to  consider  the  feelings  and  ideals  which  make  our 
life  endurable,  the  bond  of  sympathy  with  fellow-beings  is  to  be  counted 
among  the  first  of  these,  and  that  the  introduction  of  Oriental  apathy 
regarding  the  well-being  of  others  would  impoverish  our  civilization.  .  .  . 

Some  favorable  influences  that  may  be  exercised  by  the  meeting  of 
the  older  and  younger  civilizations  are  the  gaining  by  the  latter  of  a 
deeper  insight  into  the  mystic  elements  of  life,  more  serenity,  and  greater 
quiet  and  self-possession.  Our  civilization  is  too  materialistic,  and  lays 
too  much  emphasis  on  mere  machinery.  The  Oriental  may  well  ask, 
Why  do  you  hurry  and  struggle  and  make  inventions  and  reduce  life  to 
an  endless  scramble,  when  you  have  not  time  left  to  think  about  the 
deepest  questions  of  the  human  soul  ? 

If  Chinese  partition  should  be  made  the  stepping-stone  to  world 
control,  Western  nations  would  be  forced  to  fight  for  their  civilization, 
and  a  century  of  terrible  conflicts  would  be  imminent.  Such  a  struggle 
could  only  end  in  the  final  preponderance  of  one  power  in  a  world  abso- 
lutism more  deadly  than  that  of  Rome,  in  that  there  would  be  left  no 
vigorous  elements  to  revive  a  dying  civilization.  It  is  not  strange,  then, 
that  many  should  be  looking  forward  to  a  time  which  will  try  men's 
souls,  and  insisting  that  we  make  sure  of  rallying  about  only  the  best  in 
our  civilization  and  of  struggling,  not  for  material  gain  and  the  vulgar 
glory  of  the  hour,  but  for  the'permanence  of  our  highest  ideals,  in  order 
that  the  world  may  retain  an  abiding-place  for  truthfulness  and  honesty 
in  life  and  thought.  No  one  who  sees  the  seriousness  of  the  present 
situation  will  rashly  cry  for  war  and  headlong  national  aggrandizement. 


152         AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

— Paul  S.  Reinsch,  "World  Politics  at  the  End  of  the  Nineteenth  Century 
as  influenced  by  the  Oriental  Situation,"  pp.  243-245. 

It  is  no  wiser  to  speculate  upon  the  great  powers  around  the  Pacific 
Basin  a  hundred  years  hence  and  leave  China  out  of  the  reckoning  than 
to  write  a  treatise  on  oceans  and  leave  the  Pacific  Ocean  out  of  the 
account.  If  the  Chinese  and  the  Americans  preserve  their  moral  sound- 
ness, we  venture  the  prophecy  that  in  the  twenty-first  century  the  two 
peoples  which  will  loom  largest  on  the  globe  will  be  the  Chinese  and  the 
Americans — or,  perhaps  better,  the  Chinese  and  the  Anglo-Saxons. 
Whatever  course  human  history  takes,  therefore,  China  will  bulk  large 
in  the  coming  centuries.  If  the  United  States  follows  a  statesmanlike, 
just,  and  Christian  policy,  she,  too,  will  bulk  large  in  the  coming 
centuries,  and  despite  her  lesser  numbers  she  may  possibly  bulk  even 
larger  than  China  in  the  moral  leadership  of  the  race.  Moreover,  if 
Russia  fills  up  her  large  areas  of  tillable  land,  and  if  the  Russians  make 
the  advance  in  political  institutions  and  Christian  civilization  which  we 
all  hope  and  pray  for,  then,  with  Canada  and  the  United  States  and  such 
white  populations  as  may  be  in  South  America  on  the  east,  and  with 
the  Russians  upon  the  west,  and  with  such  moral  influence  as  Great 
Britain  and  the  Netherlands  and  France  may  exercise  in  Malaysia,  the 
influence  of  the  white  race  and  of  Christian  civilization  around  the  Pacific 
Basin  may  be  maintained.  On  the  other  hand,  with  the  rapid  advance 
which  the  Japanese,  the  Chinese,  and  the  people  of  India  are  now  making, 
the  influence  of  the  yellow  races  in  the  Pacific  Basin  is  certain  to  increase. 
In  a  word,  the  influence  of  each  race  and  each  civilization  will  last  so  long 
as  it  deserves  to  last.  The  influence  of  the  white  races  will  pale  before 
the  influence  of  the  yellow  races  if  the  latter  surpass  us  in  intellectual  and 
moral  power.  If  we  read  aright  the  principles  of  evolution  or  the  unfold- 
ing moral  and  spiritual  history  of  the  race  or  the  teachings  of  the  New 
Testament,  Christ  is  set  for  the  rise  and  fall  of  nations.  If  the  Christian 
forces  of  the  world  respond  to  the  divine  summons,  and  Christianity  takes 
deep  root  and  spreads  widely  and  rapidly  around  the  Pacific,  we  may  be 
sure  that  all  will  recognize  that  each  race  and  nation  has  its  providential 
work. — James  W.  Bashford,  "China :  An  Interpretation,"  pp.  443-445. 

Forces  That  Make  for  Unity 

In  the  last  century  and  a  half  the  United  States  has  made  three  great 
contributions  to  the  political  advancement  of  the  world.  The  first  was 
the  adoption  of  the  constitution,  an  experiment  in  federalism  on  a  scale 
larger  than  ever  before  known  in  history.  The  second  was  the  adoption 
of  a  policy  by  which  the  vast  territories  of  all  the  states  were  held  in 
common,  and  these  new  territories  admitted  to  statehood  upon  exactly 
the  same  terms  as  the  original  commonwealths  which  formed  the  Union. 
Our  third  contribution  was  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  which  removed  two 


WHO  WILL  CONTROL  THE  PACIFIC  BASIN?      153 

continents  from  the  field  of  foreign  conquest  and  guaranteed  to  each 
American  nation  the  freedom  to  determine  its  own  form  of  government 
and  its  own  sovereignty. 

Today  the  nation  is  again  in  a  position  to  contribute  to  the  political 
progress  of  the  world.  It  stands  before  a  fourth  decision.  Either  it 
can  cling  hopelessly  to  the  last  vestiges  of  its  policy  of  isolation,  or  it 
can  launch  out  into  imperialistic  ventures,  or  finally  it  can  promote,  as 
can  no  other  nation,  a  policy  of  internationalism,  which  will  bind  together 
the  nations  in  a  union  of  mutual  interest  and  will  hasten  the  peaceful 
progress  of  the  economic  and  political  integration  of  the  world. — Walter 
E.  Weyl,  "American  World  Policies,"  p.  295. 

If  national  ambitions  and  economic  rivalries  are  often  dividing 
forces,  there  are  also  in  the  modern  world  a  great  number  of  unifying 
forces  more  and  more  coming  into  play.  There  is  law.  Three  great 
systems  of  law  cover  together  half  of  the  human  race.  A  great  French 
jurist  has  declared  that  by  the  end  of  this  century  there  will  inevitably 
be  one  joint  code  of  law  for  all  Europe.  There  is  science.  .  .  .  How 
much  has  steam  done  to  bring  about  similarity  in  the  social  problems  of 
all  nations?  How  much  electricity  is  doing  to  put  a  girdle  about  the 
earth.  It  would  need  all  the  genius  of  Mr.  H.  G.  Wells  ...  to  portray 
the  future  of  these  and  other  unifying  tendencies.  Then  there  is  aviation. 
Already  the  estranging  sea  has  become  the  all-uniting;  what  then  may 
we  not  expect  from  the  air  ?  International  law  sprang  out  of  the  absolute 
need  to  have  some  rules  for  the  sea ;  but  the  air  is  to  the  sea  what  three 
dimensions  are  to  two.  The  air  knows  no  frontiers;  it  must  be  inter- 
national. 

Democracy,  too,  must  help.  .  .  .  Democracy  has  a  strongly  idealist 
quality.  A  mass  of  men  always  respond  best  to  an  appeal  to  their  sense 
of  justice  and  moral  right,  for  two  simple  reasons:  One  is,  that  appeals  to 
their  interests  tend  to  divide  them  just  as  their  interests  are  divergent. 
The  other  reason  is  that  broad  and  simple  moral  issues  are  the  questions 
they  can  understand  better  than  matters  of  intricate  policy  or  technical 
detail.  Democracy  in  the  modern  world  had  a  religious  origin.  It 
sprang  up  in  that  wonderful  army  of  Cromwell,  an  army  of  "godly"  men, 
where  an  oath  was  punished  by  a  fine  and  where  the  watchword  was 
"tender  consciences."  It  was  this  spiritual  quality  which  was  the  under- 
lying inspiration  both  of  the  French  Revolution  and  the  American  Revo- 
lution. Without  this  spiritual  quality  Democracy  will  be  a  failure,  but 
with  it  we  can  look  with  some  hope  to  Democracy  to  be  a  potent  spirit 
in  the  future  consensus  of  nations  on  such  a  great  moral  question  as  war. 

But  the  greatest  and  at  the  same  time  the  most  feasible  of  the  recon- 
ciling influences  is  and  will  be  Christianity.  ...  It  has  now  become 
manifest  that  Christian  principles  have  to  be  applied  to  the  industrial 
relations  between  individuals,  to  the  life  of  corporate  bodies,  and  to  the 


154         AMERICA'S   STAKE   IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

relations  between  states.  This  alone  can  set  our  social  life,  our  com- 
mercial life,  our  international  life  on  a  firm  basis,  the  basis  which  corre- 
sponds to  the  deepest  relations,  i.  e.,  moral  relations.  This  is  no  longer 
to  be  called  Utopian,  now  that  the  alternative  is  seen  to  be  war,  war 
between  individuals,  between  classes,  between  nations.  Utopian  it  is,  in 
the  sense  that  it  must  be  a  long  process,  one  to  which  each  generation  of 
men,  each  individual  must  consciously  and  patiently  contribute.  Already 
there  are  signs  among  the  working  classes,  in  the  student  world,  even  in 
the  world  of  business  and  commerce,  that  such  a  spirit  is  springing  up. — 
A.  L.  Smith,  "International  Relationships,"  pp.  134-136. 

The  Naturalization  of  Christianity  among  All  Races 

The  period  of  this  third  and  greatest  expansion  of  Christendom  has 
.  .  .  been  a  little  less  than  four  hundred  years.  The  area  of  expansion 
is  not  now  the  basin  of  the  Mediterranean.  It  is  not  the  northern  and 
western  part  of  the  little  continent  of  Europe.  In  this  epoch  the  area 
has  been  literally  the  whole  of  the  habitable  earth.  The  effort  for  the 
spread  of  Christianity  has  been  .  .  .  but  an  episode  in  a  far  larger  world- 
movement,  a  movement  which  has  resulted  in  bringing  the  whole  earth 
under  the  influence  of  Europe.  ...  In  the  sense  merely  of  the  proclaim- 
ing of  the  Gospel  in  all  lands  the  work  is  entering  upon  its  later  stages. 
An  arrest  of  this  mere  evangelizing  process  parallel  to  that  which  we 
have  already  twice  observed  in  Christian  history  seems  near.  There 
will  soon  be  comparatively  few  men  anywhere  who  have  not  had  a  chance 
of  listening  to  the  word  of  the  grace  of  God  as  revealed  in  Jesus  Christ. 
How  much  that  avails  is  another  question.  How  far  we  still  are  from 
the  real  Christianizing  of  the  world  is  brought  home  to  us  with  terrific 
force  in  these  days  of  war.  It  sometimes  seems  as  if  we  were  so  far  from 
that  goal  within  Christendom  itself  that  we  have  little  to  say  to  the  rest 
of  the  world.  Yet  even  that  dissemination  of  the  word  of  Christianity 
of  which  we  spoke  and  the  beginning  made  of  the  transformation  of  men 
by  its  spirit  have  put  practically  all  the  nations  of  mankind  in  a  position 
to  judge  between  Christianity  and  Christendom.  How  vast  is  the  task  of 
this  naturalization  and  nationalization  of  Christianity  among  all  the  races 
of  the  earth,  including  our  own,  must  be  obvious  to  anyone  who  thinks. — 
Edward  C.  Moore,  "The  Spread  of  Christianity  in  the  Modern  World," 
pp.  14,  15- 

Christianity's  Opportunity  in  the  Orient 

Throughout  Asia  there  is  in  process  a  complete  transformation  of 
social  institutions,  habits,  standards,  and  beliefs.  The  movement  is 
unceasing;  it  will  as  little  wait  on  our  convenience  as  the  tides  of  the 
sea.  The  moral  and  spiritual  forces  at  work  are  as  inexorable  in  their 
operation  as  the  movements  and  energies  of  war.    The  new  institutions 


WHO  WILL  CONTROL  THE  PACIFIC  BASIN?      155 

and  habits  which  are  being  formed  will  bear  the  impress  of  the  spiritual 
conceptions  of  life  held  by  those  who  consciously  or  unconsciously  are 
shaping  them.  If  in  a  spiritual  crisis  so  great  and  so  real  we  know 
of  a  Gospel  that  floods  life  with  meaning,  strengthens  and  ennobles 
character,  and  makes  men  free  sons  of  God  to  serve  Him  in  His  world, 
we  cannot  keep  it  to  ourselves. 

That  we  of  the  West  should  give  to  the  peoples  of  Asia  in  this  day 
of  their  awakening  the  best  that  we  have — the  knowledge  that  has  been 
slowly  accumulated  by  the  labor  of  generations,  the  conceptions  of  liberty 
and  the  free  institutions  which  we  have  won  through  long  struggles,  and 
above  all  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  which  first  came  to  us  from  the  East — and 
that  we  in  our  turn  should  receive  from  them  the  gifts  and  treasures  of 
their  ancient  civilizations,  and  the  fruits  of  their  distinctive  powers  of 
spiritual  insight  and  apprehension,  vitalized  by  the  touch  of  Christ,  so 
that  we  and  they  together  may  understand  more  deeply  and  truly  what 
He  is  and  what  He  would  have  us  do — this  surely  is  a  dream  that  may 
make  the  blood  run  quicker  in  our  veins,  and  an  object  of  endeavor  that 
may  claim  our  utmost  devotion. — ^J.  H.  Oldham,  M.A.,  "The  World  and 
the  Gospel,"  pp.  106,  107. 

At  the  Turning  Point  of  History 

The  situation  is  grave  in  the  Far  East  and  not  only  in  the  Far  East 
but  throughout  Asia.  A  little  careful  and  patient  labor  in  the  work  of 
mutual  understanding  may  help  to  avoid  a  great  conflagration.  .  .  .  We 
are  faced  by  a  great  problem.  To  try  to  minimize  the  gravity  of  the 
problem  is  vain,  for  the  facts  lie  before  the  eyes  of  every  investigator. 
We  are  at  a  great  turning  point  in  the  history  of  the  world.  At  such  a 
juncture  it  is  not  always  easy  to  see  our  full  duty.  But  a  few  things  are 
plain,  and  one  of  them  is  that,  in  the  present  state  of  the  relations 
between  East  and  West,  no  labor  can  be  spared  from  the  task  of  bringing 
about  a  better  understanding.  Workers  in  many  spheres  will  be  re- 
warded by  saving  the  world  from  an  interracial  conflict,  a  war  of  conti- 
nents, by  which  the  bloodshed,  suffering,  and  waste  of  the  past  five 
terrible  years  would  be  overshadowed.  .  .  . 

There  must  be  no  question  of  struggling  with  a  resentful  and  bris- 
tling Asia  or  of  "licking  the  Japanese."  There  have  been  wars  in  the 
history  of  the  world,  there  have  been  fights  in  America  in  which  civiliza- 
tion has  seemed  to  "Git  forrard,  sometimes  upon  a  powder  cart."  But 
civilization  will  go  down  for  centuries  if  half  the  world  flies  at  the  other 
half's  throat.  It  will  not  be  the  fighting  of  men  but  of  machinery.  It 
will  be  crime  on  the  earth,  in  the  air,  and  on  the  sea.  It  will  be  annihil- 
ation by  starvation  and  poison,  by  unimaginable  cruelties.  Unless  prog- 
ress is  a  dream  and  civilization  an  illusion  we  must  be  finished  with  war. 
— ^J.  W.  Robertson  Scott,  Japan  Society  Bulletin ,  January  31^  1920. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

WHAT  IS  THE  SOLUTION  OF  THE  FAR 
EASTERN  PROBLEM? 

I.  What  is  the  Far  Eastern  question? 

1.  From  the  study  thus  far,  what  would  you  say  are  the  main 
issues  in  the  Far  Eastern  problem? 

2.  What  is  America's  relation  to  this  problem  ? 

II.  What  is  the  solution  o£  the  Far  Eastern  question? 

I.    As  a  result  of  these  studies  do  you  believe  the  Far  Eastern 
problem  is  soluble?    Why?    Why  not? 

If  it  is  soluble,  what  solution  seems  to  you  to  be  most  promis- 
ing? 

How  will  America  be  affected  by  the  solution  or  non-solution 
of  the  problem  ? 

What  part  ought  America  to  take  in  the  effort  to  solve  the 
problem  ? 

Which  of  the  following  would  you  consider  essential  if  the 
Far  Eastern  problem  is  to  be  solved? 

a.  Just  and  equitable  immigration  and  naturalization  laws, 
impartially  enforced. 

b.  A  wise,  vigorous,  and  sustained  Far  Eastern  policy  on  the 
part  of  the  State  Department  at  Washington. 

c.  An  able  diplomatic  and  consular  personnel. 

d.  An  intelligent  public  opinion  supporting  the  State  Depart- 
ment in  its  diplomacy  and  Congress  in  its  legislation. 

e.  A  capable  and  trustworthy  personnel  representing  American 
commercial  interests  in  the  Far  East. 

f .  A  navy  fully  able  to  protect  all  legitimate  American  interests 
in  the  Pacific. 

g.  Courtesies  and  hospitality  shown  to  students,  business  men, 
diplomatic  and  other  leaders  coming  to  America  for  longer 
or  shorter  stay  from  the  nations  of  the  Far  East. 

IS6 


SOLUTION  OF  FAR  EASTERN  PROBLEM?        157 

h.  The  multiplicati.on  of  personal  friendships  between  Ameri- 
cans and  representatives  of  the  races  of  the  Far  East. 

i.  The  opening  up  of  cultural  privileges  in  the  United  States, 
such  as  normal  and  technical  schools,  colleges  and  univers- 
ities, in  the  largest  possible  measure  to  Far  Eastern  students. 

j.  The  mutual  interpretation  of  racial  and  national  values  and 
progress  by  exchange  professorships  and  lectureships. 

k.  The  encouragement  of  trans-Pacific  tourist  travel,  so  that 
the  visits  by  intelligent  nationals  from  one  to  the  other  side 
of  the  Pacific — East  or  West — may  be  multiplied. 

1.  A  great  enlargement  of  foreign  mission  work  on  those  lines 
of  development  which  have  most  approved  themselves  to  both 
Occidental  and  Oriental  enlightened  judgment. 

m.  The  American  agencies  of  public  information  and  guidance 
such  as  the  news  bureaus,  the  daily  press,  the  weekly  and 
monthly  periodicals,  fully  related  to  the  various  aspects  of  the 
problem,  and  providing  publicity  on  sound  informative  and 
interpretative  lines. 

n.  The  achievement  of  a  more  truly  Christian  private  and 
public  life  in  America,  so  that  the  commending  of  Christian 
ideals  to  the  people  of  the  Far  East  by  our  missionaries  may 
be  better  understood  and  appreciated. 

o.  The  development  among  Christians  and  others  of  a  clearer 
sense  of  world  brotherhood,  of  the  essential  unity  of  the 
human  race,  and  of  the  inescapable  and  multiplying  contacts 
of  its  various  peoples  as  they  sojourn  on  the  earth,  and,  there- 
fore, of  the  urgent  duty  to  find  ways  whereby  the  nations  may 
live  together  in  peace  and  amity. 

p.    A  full  participation  in  the  League  of  Nations. 

q.  A  hearty  sharing  by  great  American  financial  interests  in 
the  development  of  natural  resources  and  of  systems  of  trans- 
portation in  the  Far  East,  especially  in  China,  in  order  to 
hasten  the  enlargement  of  industrial  processes  and  the  raising 
of  the  standards  of  living,  and  so  to  increase  the  ability  of 
the  yellow  peoples  to  provide  for  their  own  economic  needs. 

III.    What  further  responsibility,  if  any,  should  America  as- 
sume in  the  Far  East? 

I.  Are  we,  as  Americans,  to  rest  our  cases  as  to  our  own  ideals 
for  the  treatment  and  guidance  of  the  less  favored  or  backward 
peoples  and  races  on  our  record  with  respect  to  the  Filipinos,  the 
Porto  Ricans,  and  the  Cubans? 


158  AMERICA'S   STAKE   IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

2.     Have  we  further  and  possibly  still  greater  responsibilities  in 
the  Far  East?     If  so,  just  what  are  those  responsibilities? 

IV.  What  can  be  done  to  ease  the  international  and  interracial 
strain  and  tension  in  the  world  growing  out  o£  economic 
need? 

1.  The  white  races  now  control  vast  areas  of  potentially  food- 
producing  land  which  is  not  used  by  any  means  up  to  capacity 
and  these  races  purpose  to  monopolize  those  areas,  by  way  of 
protecting  their  own  standards  of  living  and  their  racial  in- 
tegrity and  for  the  use  of  the  oncoming  generations  of  white 
descendants.  The  yellow  races,  hard  pressed  for  life's  neces- 
sities, with  multiplied  millions  living  below  the  scale  of  effi- 
ciency, and  with  rapidly  increasing  populations,  have  awakened 
late  to  world  conditions  and  find  the  areas  of  possible  spill-over 
for  their  peoples  already  largely  preempted  by  the  white  race. 
What,  if  anything,  should  be  done  about  it  ? 

2.  Is  the  principle  of  loving  our  neighbor  as  ourselves  a  valid 
principle  in  the  matter  of  relationships  between  the  larger  social 
units,  such  as  nations  and  races?    Why?    Why  not? 

3.  If  we  are  to  love  our  neighbors  as  ourselves,  nationally  and 
racially  speaking,  just  what  is  involved  in  this  for  America? 

4.  If  we  are  not  to  love  our  neighbors  as  ourselves,  nationally 
and  racially  speaking,  what  would  seem  to  you  to  be  the  prob- 
able outcome  of  the  competitive,  and  perhaps  increasingly  bitter, 
international  and  interracial  struggle  for  control  of  the  sustenta- 
tion  resources,  developed  and  undeveloped,  of  the  earth? 

5.  Jesus  laid  down  the  principle,  "Seek  ye  first  the  Kingdom  of 
God,  and  his  righteousness;  and  all  these  things  [needful  for 
physical  maintenance]  shall  be  added  unto  you."  To  what 
extent  is  this  principle  valid  in  national  and  racial  affairs? 

a.  Is  character  or  upkeep  more  important  for  humanity? 

b.  In  the  larger  economic  order  of  the  world  will  individual, 
national,  and  racial  righteousness  so  react  upon  human  life, 
and  through  it  upon  nature,  that  the  human  family  may  eat, 
drink,  and  be  clothed  as  a  byproduct  of  the  search  for  God 
and  His  Kingdom?  If  so,  in  what  ways?  If  not,  does  the 
principle  have  any  validity  whatsoever  and  just  where  does 
the  validity  end  ? 

6.  If  the  principle  just  enunciated  is  valid  in  the  widest  sense, 
of  what  importance  is  it  that  it  should  become  effective  in  all 
nations  and  among  all  peoples  ? 


SOLUTION  OF  FAR  EASTERN  PROBLEM?        159 

a.  What  effect  will  areas  of  non-acceptance  have  upon  social 
and  economic  conditions  and  practices  elsewhere? 

b.  What  is  essential  if  this  teaching  of  Jesus  is  to  be  accepted 
as  basal  for  all  of  life  everywhere  ? 

REFERENCE   MATERIAL 

Aspects  of  the  Far  Eastern  Problem 

Fifty  years  of  contact  with  the  West  have  taught  Japan  that  she 
can  secure  her  rights,  and  even  her  political  sovereignty,  only  as  she 
is  prepared  to  argue  with  the  white  man  with  bayonets  and  battle-ships. 

Can  we  doubt  that  China  will  follow  the  same  course  of  development 
as  Japan  has  taken  ?  China  has  definitely  abandoned  her  ancient  systems 
of  education,  government,  and  communication,  and  is  acquiring  as 
rapidly  as  possible  the  practices  and  the  instruments  of  Occidental  coun- 
tries. This  enormous  change  has  been  entered  upon  in  consequence  of 
European  military  aggression,  and  as  a  means  whereby  to  oppose  it 
ultimately  and  maintain  independence. 

Can  we  doubt  the  development  in  China,  as  in  Japan,  of  deep  moral 
indignation  and  resentment  at  the  arrogance  of  other  races  in  their 
assumption  of  inherent  superiority  and  right  to  own  the  earth  and  to 
exploit  all  races,  keeping  them  in  economic  and  political  inferiority  and 
subjection? 

Would  not  the  above  described  anti-Asiatic  policy  produce  such  a 
feeling  of  pride,  of  rivalry,  of  ambition  and  indignation  as  would  ulti- 
mately render  inevitable  a  world-war  of  the  races,  in  comparison  with 
which,  as  many  believe,  the  .  .  .  tragedy  in  Europe  would  pale  into 
insignificance? — Sidney  L.  Gulick,  "America  and  the  Orient,"  pp.  18,  19. 

On  the  rim  of  the  Pacific  an  issue  has  appeared  which  opens  up 
difficulties  far  greater  than  those  which  have  hitherto  troubled  diplomacy. 
The  imperial  clashes  of  today,  the  intrigues  and  competitions  and  wars 
that  harass  our  world,  revolve  about  the  spread  of  Western  commerce 
among  backward  peoples.  But  a  new  problem  has  arisen  in  California, 
Canada,  Australia,  infinitely  more  painful  than  the  struggle  of  empires. 
It  is  a  real  friction  of  peoples  who  do  not  know  how  to  live  together  and 
are  forced  therefore  to  compete  for  territory.  The  Hindus  who  cannot 
settle  in  Canada,  the  Japanese  and  Chinese  excluded  from  the  United 
States,  are  the  first  symptoms  of  a  world  problem  to  which  no  man  has 
proposed  a  satisfactory  answer. — Walter  Lippman,  "The  Stakes  of 
Diplomacy,"  pp.  175,  176. 

Those  who  imagine  .  .  .  that  the  whole  question  of  Asiatic  emigra- 
tion to  North  America  and  Australia  has  been  more  than  temporarily 
settled  are,  in  my  judgment,  deceiving  themselves  altogether.    It  is  pos- 


i6o         AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

sible,  of  course,  that  the  internal  development  of  Japan,  and  behind  her  of 
China,  may  afford  a  full  outlet  for  the  ill-paid  labor  of  the  industrious 
millions  in  Japan  and  the  tens  of  millions  of  China.  But  this  does  not 
seem  in  the  least  likely  for  many  a  long  year  to  come.  When,  conse- 
quently, the  vast  populations  of  eastern  Asia  move  in  earnest  towards  a 
peaceful  colonization  of  the  European  settlements  bordering  on  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  and  when  they  do  this  with  the  support  and  under  the  lead- 
ership of  the  Governments  of  Japan  and  China,  it  is  difficult  to  see  how 
their  demand  for  free  access  to  such  sparsely-peopled  territories  as 
southern  California,  British  Columbia,  and  western  Australia  can  be 
effectively  resisted. — H.  M.  Hyndman,  "The  Awakening  of  Asia,"  p.  175. 

China  .  .  .  contains  as  yet  no  extraordinary  difficulties,  as  the  case 
of  Russia  does;  no  conglomeration  of  national  and  racial  problems,  as 
middle  Europe  does;  no  such  festering  caldron  of  jealousies  and  hatreds, 
as  the  Balkan  question  does.  Yet  in  the  last  twenty  years  China  nas 
been  developing  into  a  combined  Russia,  middle  Europe,  and  Balkans, 
with  the  antagonistic  ambitions  of  several  powerful  nations  concentrated 
on  a  struggle  to  control  her  or  to  possess  the  lion's  share  of  her  remains. 
What  this  situation  leads  to  in  international  affairs  has  been  sufficiently 
demonstrated  by  recent  events.  If  China's  case  does  not  get  sympathetic 
attention  and  just  treatment  by  the  world,  it  will  not  be  possible  for  any 
one  who  knows  the  realities  of  international  politics  hereafter  to  hear 
their  altruistic  professions  with  any  confidence  or  respect. — Thomas  F. 
Millard,  "Democracy  and  the  Eastern  Question,"  pp.  357,  358. 

Japan  is  a  mighty  potential  force  in  the  world.  When  every  quali- 
fication has  been  stated,  she  is  today  the  outstanding  native  power  in 
Asia.  She  is  the  one  determined  and  intelligently  constructive  force 
in  all  the  lands  that  border  the  western  Pacific.  Her  shadow  is,  indeed, 
over  all  Asia.  .  .  .  The  lines  of  her  policy  are  clear  and  far-reaching. 
Her  prevision  is  astute;  her  will  determined.  She  will  be  the  shaping 
power  of  the  East  and  the  question  which  remains  is  simply  this:  Shall 
that  power  be  Christian  or  pagan,  theistic  or  agnostic,  egoistic  or  altru- 
istic, autocratic  or  popular?  It  is  not  conceivable  that  civilization  any- 
where in  the  world  can  placidly  accept  this  uncertainty  as  a  matter  of 
insignificant  concern. 

But  even  this  is  a  mere  fragment  of  the  story.  Eastern  Asia  is  the 
unexplored  El  Dorado  of  potential  trade  for  all  the  nations  of  the  world. 
There  are  not  a  few  who  believe  that  the  real  cause  of  the  present  Euro- 
pean war  is  to  be  found  in  the  exhaustless  prizes  of  commerce  which  are 
offered  in  the  western  Pacific  littoral.  Indeed  in  some  large  sense  this 
must  be  true,  for  back  of  all  strivings  of  a  thousand  years  has  been  the 
desire  to  reach  the  coveted  riches  which  are  concealed  beyond  these 
mysterious  curtains.  In  any  case,  the  opportunity  to  appropriate  the 
mineral  and  agricultural  riches  of  China  and  vicinity  and  the  trade  of 


SOLUTION  OF  FAR  EASTERN  PROBLEM?        i6i 

unnumbered  millions  will  be  the  irresistible  magnet  which  shall  draw  all 
the  great  races  of  the  world  into  competition  such  as  the  world  has  never 
seen  before.  Here  there  is  certain  to  come  th^  gathering  ambition  of  the 
world's  dominating  nations.  Here  will  be  another  melting  pot  of  inter- 
national eagerness  and  struggle.  To  exaggerate  is  not  necessary;  but 
there  are  many  who,  knowing  the  East,  look  out  upon  the  coming  impact 
of  the  races  in  Eastern  Asia  with  most  solemn  concern.  And  in  all  this 
Japan,  as  a  nation,  will  be  the  sponsor.  Her  faith  and  her  ideals  will  be 
influential  beyond  our  power  to  anticipate.  With  what  faith  and  what 
ideals  shall  she  exercise  her  efficient  sway  in  this  hour,  when,  lifted  so 
suddenly  out  of  the  isolation  of  the  past,  she  becomes  the  arbiter  of  such 
world  destinies? — American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Mis- 
sions Deputation  to  Japan,  "The  Kingdom  of  God  in  Japan,"  pp.  71,  72. 

America's  Relation  to  the  Far  Eastern  Problem 

The  United  States  has  a  unique  role  to  play  in  this  realignment  of 
world  politics  and  in  the  remaking  of  China.  The  Pacific  Ocean  is  fast 
becoming  the  basin  of  political  and  commercial  activities,  and  what 
affects  one  side  of  it  is  bound  to  affect  the  other.  The  United  States 
cannot  afford,  for  the  safety  of  its  own  interests,  to  have  China  dominated 
by  an  aggressive  and  militaristic  nation,  European  or  Asiatic.  The 
effete  notion  of  splendid  isolation  is  out  of  date,  and  America  can  no 
longer  hold  herself  aloof  and  keep  away  from  the  entangling  alliances  of 
the  old  world.  The  world  is  being  too  closely  unified  for  two  incompatible 
political  ideals  to  exist  together — imperialistic  autocracy  based  upon 
militarism,  and  representative  democracy  founded  on  political  liberty.  .  .  . 

The  United  States  fought  for  her  own  freedom  in  the  Declaration  of 
Independence.  She  was  willing  to  fight  for  the  freedom  of  the  peoples 
of  the  Western  hemisphere  in  declaring  the  Monroe  Doctrine.  In  the 
European  War  she  fought  for  the  freedom  and  democracy  of  the  whole 
world.  China,  if  unselfishly  aided  and  wisely  guided,  can  revive  her 
ancient  genius  and  develop  her  vast  potential  resources,  and  will  eventu- 
ally take  her  place  among  the  powers  of  the  world  as  a  strong,  demo- 
cratic nation.  Will  the  United  States  of  America,  true  to  the  new  prin- 
ciples of  her  political  conviction,  perform  her  mission  toward  China  in  the 
consummation  of  this  noble  task? — Henry  Chung,  "The  Oriental  Policy 
of  the  United  States,"  pp.  108-110. 

If  we  are  to  grapple  with  the  issues  which  distract  the  world,  we 
have  got  to  enter  the  theaters  of  trouble.  If  the  United  States  is  to  be 
a  leader,  or  even  an  important  factor,  in  the  stabilizing  of  mankind,  it 
must  create  interests  which  will  justify  its  participation  in  world  politics. 
It  must  invest  and  trade  in  the  backward  countries.  This  will  give  our 
diplomacy  a  leverage  on  events.  And  to  be  effective  that  diplomacy  will 
have  to  be  weighted  with  armaments  of  sufficient  power  to  make  it  heard 


i62  AMERICA'S   STAKE   IN   THE  FAR  EAST 

by  the  great  powers.  Moreover,  we  shall  have  to  Abandon  our  traditional 
dislike  of  European  alliances.  If  we  enter  the  arena  of  the  world,  we 
cannot  stand  entirely  alone;  we  shall  have  to  work  in  coalition  with  the 
powers  whose  policy  is  most  nearly  like  our  own. 

That  is,  I  realize,  a  terrifying  program  to  most  Americans.  It 
terrifies  me,  and  disturbs  every  prejudice  of  my  training.  We  have  all 
of  us  been  educated  to  isolation,  and  we  love  the  irresponsibility  of  it. 
But  that  isolation  must  be  abandoned  if  we  are  to  do  anything  effective 
for  internationalism.  Of  course,  if  we  wish  to  let  the  world  go  hang, 
we  may  be  able  to  defend  our  coasts  against  attack  and  establish  a  kind 
of  hermit  security  for  ourselves.  But  even  that  security  will  be  pre- 
carious in  such  a  world  arranged  as  this  one  has  come  to  be.  Less  and 
less  is  it  possible  to  remain  neutral,  to  stay  out  of  the  conflicts. — Walter 
Lippman,  "The  Stakes  of  Diplomacy,"  pp.  226,  227. 

The  Work  of  the  Missionaries 

The  world  is  now  one  in  fact.  Untold  miseries,  and  cataclysms 
worse  far  than  that  from  which  we  are  emerging,  lie  in  store  for  us  unless 
the  world  becomes  one  also  in  heart.  .  .  . 

The  hope  of  the  world  lies,  in  sober  truth,  with  those  who  preach 
peace  to  them  that  are  afar  off  as  well  as  to  them  that  are  nigh.  Those 
shuddering  possibilities  of  wreckage  and  horror  can  be  averted  by  the 
breaking  down  of  spiritual  barriers,  and  by  religious  union  among  nations 
and  races,  for  the  silly  nineteenth-century  habit  of  ignoring  the  religious 
factor  is  contrary  to  all  the  record  of  history:  religion  is  the  ultimate 
motive  of  mankind,  in  all  its  forms;  it  is  the  great  fundamental  power 
that  frames  civilization  and  that  moves  men  in  their  masses  to  great 
decisions  and  abiding  achievements. 

No  doubt  much  of  the  surviving  prejudice  against  foreign  missions 
is  due  to  actions  which  reflected  the  utmost  possible  credit  upon  them. 
But  the  missionaries  have  succeeded.  ...  In  every  part  of  the  world  they 
are  leavening  society.  They  have  a  power  beyond  that  of  even  the 
European  official,  who  is  just,  able,  hard-working,  and  very  honorable, 
but  a  little  cold  and  aloof.  They  are  building  everywhere  the  spiritual 
bridges,  and  bridges  are  what  are  needed  everywhere;  they  are  showing 
everywhere  the  fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of  man.  They 
are  making  men  of  all,  or  almost  all,  nations  and  races  see  a  glimpse  of 
a  better  ideal  than  preying  upon  one  another  and  fighting  against  one 
another.  They  are  bringing  us  to  realize  that  the  better  the  ideals  of 
each  race  the  more  those  ideals  coincide  .  .  .  ;  because  the  nearer  we 
are  to  God  the  nearer  we  are  to  one  another.  In  a  quite  definite  way  they 
are  becoming  the  inner  statesmen  of  the  new  world ;  and  the  wisest  rulers 
and  administrators  nowadays  take  ample  counsel  of  them. — Percy  Dear- 
mer,  "The  Call  gf  the  Far/'  Bcist  and  West,  July,  191^,  207-209. 


SOLUTION  OF  FAR  EASTERN  PROBLEM?        163 

The  Spirit  of  Greed  and  Conquest 

The  ultimate  fact  behind  the  recent  world-conflict  is  that  the  work 
life  of  the  world  is  organized  around  the  spirit  of  greed  and  conquest. 
No  stable  and  enduring  peace  can  be  created  without  reckoning  with  this 
fact.  If  mankind  would  save  itself  from  wasting  death  by  a  continued 
series  of  conflicts,  it  must  find  a  new  manner  of  living  in  times  of  peace. 
It  is  a  choice  not  simply  between  two  principles  of  government,  but 
between  two  philosophies  of  life.  The  world  must  choose  between  life 
organized  around  the  principle  of  strife,  and  life  organized  around  the 
principle  of  good  will.  The  way  out  of  war  and  its  horrors  is  not  by 
paper  pacts  merely,  but  by  the  creation  of  a  new  world.  It  is  not  merely 
a  question  of  new  political  constitutions  or  of  new  forms  of  social  organ- 
izations ;  it  is  also  a  question  of  motives  and  organizing  principle.  Shall 
civilization  seek  property  or  life,  the  creation  of  goods  or  the  develop- 
ment of  humanity?  Shall  its  organizing  principle  be  strife  or  love, 
service  or  exploitation,  the  right  of  the  strong,  as  individuals  and  a  class, 
to  rule,  or  the  duty  of  the  strong  to  serve  ? — Harry  F.  Ward,  "The  Oppor- 
tunity for  Religion,"  pp.  14,  15. 

You  cannot  have  a  social  Christianity  in  China  and  an  individualistic 
Christianity  at  home — not  permanently,  that  is.  You  cannot  say  Japan 
ought  to  treat  China  unselfishly,  care  for  the  welfare  of  the  young  girls 
in  its  cotton  factories,  and  make  place  for  the  teaching  of  religion  in  its 
schools,  and  yet  allow  America  to  make  national  selfishness  the  controlling 
principle  of  its  foreign  policy,  treat  disputes  between  capital  and  labor 
as  private  quarrels  between  individual  groups,  and  divorce  the  teaching 
of  the  churches  on  Sunday  from  the  practice  of  their  members  on  the 
other  six  days  of  the  week.  .  .  . 

This  missionary  consciousness,  then,  that  we  wish  to  develop  is  some- 
thing much  bigger  than  a  belief  in  foreign  missions.  It  is  the  belief  that 
Christian  principles  ought  to  be  consistently  applied  in  all  human  rela- 
tions beginning  with  those  which  lie  nearest  ourselves.  The  man  who 
believes  this  and  acts  accordingly  has  the  missionary  consciousness. 
The  man  who  does  not,  has  not. — William  Adams  Brown,  International 
Review  of  Missions,  October,  1917,  pp.  501,  502. 

Brotherhood  in  international  economic  relations  is  still  in  the  clouds. 
No  systematic  attempt  has  as  yet  been  made  to  apply  the  principle  of  the 
Golden  Rule  to  the  economic  relations  between  peoples.  .  .  .  Every 
country,  like  every  merchant  and  manufacturer,  has  certain  material 
possessions  or  resources  which  the  world  needs,  and  which  it  has  a  duty 
to  make  available  to  the  world  on  fair  and  honorable  terms.  .  .  .  The 
last  half-century  has  taught  us  that  the  ordinary  "commercial  induce- 
ments" which  actuate  individual  traders  do  not  promote  a  fair  division 
of  the  world's  resources;  and  also  that  the  adoption  by  governments, 


i64         AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

socialistic  or  otherwise,  of  the  same  commercial  standard  leads  to  no 
better  result.  Two  self-interests  cannot  between  them  create  a  common 
interest:  a  self-interested  seller  in  Britain  and  a  self-interested  buyer  in 
Germany  or  Canada  do  not  between  them  add  to  the  total  of  human 
good  will.  This  simple  truth  .  .  .  spells  the  doom  of  all  attempts  to  im- 
prove international  economic  relations  whilst  leaving  the  motives  by 
which  it  is  ordinarily  guided  unchecked  and  uncriticized.  It  is  as  true  of 
nations  as  of  individuals  that  they  cannot  serve  both  God  and  Mammon. 
Till  this  is  realized  in  all  its  implications  .  .  .  economic  policy  is  likely 
to  remain,  what  it  is  at  this  moment,  the  storm  center  of  international 
politics. — Professor  Alfred  E.  Zimmern,  Student  Movement,  February, 
1920,  pp.  66,  67. 

We  are  standing  today  on  the  greatest  watershed  of  human  history. 
We  look  around  and  we  see  the  wreckage  wrought  by  selfishness.  A 
distracted  and  stricken  world  is  thundering  in  our  ears  its  need  of  Christ. 
Selfishness  at  last  stands  unmasked,  and  we  see  the  end  of  it.  Of  course 
it  is  the  enemy  in  politics.  Twenty  years  ago  we  proved  it  when  a 
statesman  said:  "I  guide  my  country's  policy  by  my  country's  interests." 
Today  we  are  witnessing  something  which  might  almost  be  called  a 
nationalist  mania,  of  new  boundaries  drawn  by  nationalist  lines.  Are 
they  going  to  give  us  a  united  world  or  a  fresh  crop  of  selfish  patriotism  ? 
Unless  and  until  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  fills  the  hearts  of  men  with 
the  love  of  the  great  human  brotherhood  we  can  have  no  vision  of 
world  citizenship.  Look  at  industry.  There  is  no  escape  from  the 
selfish  strife  of  competition — man  against  man  and  class  against  class — 
except  by  a  Christian  motive  of  love,  service,  and  cooperation.  Industry 
has  got  to  remain  competitive  and  selfish  until  it  becomes  Christian. 
Today  we  are  witnessing  a  new  danger.  The  old  perpendicular  lines  of 
cleavage  between  race  and  race  are  being  supplanted  by  horizontal  lines 
of  cleavage  between  class  and  class  and  only  one  thing  can  save  us  from 
a  class  war,  and  that  is  a  community  of  mutual  service — fellow-members 
with  different  functions,  fellow-members  of  the  same  body,  organizing 
for  the  good  of  all.  But,  if  we  witness  the  exposure  of  selfishness  in  its 
horror,  we  have  also  seen  it  in  its  weakness.  Do  you  see  how  selfishness 
is  revealed  by  this  world  war  as  essentially  self-destructive?  It  has 
raised  man  against  man  and  nation  against  nation  in  mutual  destruction. 
We  have  seen  the  doom  of  selfishness.  It  is  written  there.  Selfishness 
cannot  be  the  basis  of  society.  Life  is  this — ^it  means  a  world  of  mutual 
service. — Rev.  W.  E.  S.  Holland,  Address  at  Sheffield,  England, 
November,  1919. 

There  can  be  no  question  which  is  the  Christian  way,  the  way  of 
ruthless  competition,  or  the  way  of  generous  cooperation ;  the  way  of  the 
jungle,  or  the  way  of  humanity.  When  God  said,  "Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself,"  He  meant  it  to  govern  not  individuals  and  families 


SOLUTION  OF  FAR  EASTERN  PROBLEM?        165 

only,  but  nations.  He  meant  it  to  apply  to  Germany  in  her  relations  with 
Belgium,  to  Austria  in  her  relations  with  Serbia,  to  the  United  States 
in  her  relations  with  Mexico  and  China.  When  the  apostle  gave  as  the 
law  of  Christ  the  great  principle  that  "We  that  are  strong  ought  to  bear 
the  infirmities  of  the  weak,"  he  set  forth  a  principle  which  must  be  in 
eternal  conflict  with  the  law  of  self-advantage  and  exploitation,  till  it 
drive  it  out  of  the  social  life  of  mankind. — William  P.  Merrill,  "Christian 
Internationalism,"  pp.  135,  136. 

Organizing  the  Will  o£  God  in  the  Life  of  All  Peoples 

The  appraising  eyes  that  look  out  on  the  affairs  of  the  earth  today, 
however,  will  find  that  a  .  .  .  dominant  characteristic  of  the  world  situa- 
tion is  interdependence.  It  is,  indeed,  a  curious  paradox  that  a  world 
of  such  unparalleled  disquiet  should,  at  the  same  time,  be  a  world  of 
universal  interdependence.  Yet  a  survey  of  the  life  of  all  four  continents 
reveals  the  fact  that,  not  only  are  all  peoples  now  inescapably  "bound  up 
in  the  bundle  of  life"  together,  but  the  uniting  bonds  are  being  woven  in 
swiftly  increasing  closeness  and  complexity.  .  .  . 

The  world  today  is  one  body,  in  which  the  cable,  wireless  telegraphy, 
and  telephone  are  the  nerves  carrying  the  messages  that  are  the  impulses 
to  action;  and  the  steamship  lines,  the  intercontinental  railways,  and  the 
air  routes  are  the  arteries  carrying  to  and  fro  the  pulsating  blood  of 
humanity.  .  .  . 

We  are  interdependent  also  in  all  the  raw  material  of  our  civiliza- 
tion; we  starve,  our  mills  and  factories  close,  our  whole  industrial, 
political,  social  life  is  paralyzed,  if  there  is  cessation  of  the  flow  of  our 
products  from  one  to  the  other.  The  common  things  that  we  handle  or 
wear  every  day — the  soap,  the  tea,  the  cocoa,  the  rice,  the  cofifee,  the 
cotton  or  wool  clothing,  the  gold,  come  out  of  everywhere  to  us.  Indeed 
the  very  fabric  of  our  ordered  life  reposes  on  world-wide  intercom- 
munication.   There  is  today  a  world-interdependence. 

All  this  has  its  bearing  on  moral  interdependence.  If  the  cotton 
factories  of  Japan  are  run — as  they  are — on  cheap  female  labor  which 
lives  under  such  atrocious  conditions  that  every  bale  of  cotton  that  comes 
thence  to  us  is — morally  speaking — saturated  with  the  blood  of  Japanese 
womanhood,  we  are  involved  in  blood-guiltiness.  If  cocoa  or  rubber  or 
gold  are  procured  for  us  anywhere  under  conditions  where  men  die  like 
flies,  and  as  they  die  are  replaced  from  supposedly  inexhaustible  reser- 
voirs of  cheap  labor,  the  brand  of  Cain  is  ultimately  upon  us  all. 

Distance  does  not  break  the  chain  of  moral  responsibility.  Ignorance 
of  the  facts  cannot  be  put  forward  today  as  a  valid  defence  at  the  judg- 
ment bar  of  a  Christian  conscience.  The  world  is  one.  And  we,  while 
we  are  in  it,  are  inextricably  involved  in  its  collective  sins  of  oppression, 
tyranny,  commercial  extortion,  and  the  rest. 

There  is  no  way  out.    The  only  open  way  is  through  the  wrong 


i66         AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN  THE  FAR  EAST 

to  the  right.  The  bad  old  order  of  life  must  be  changed  into  the  good 
new  order  of  life.  And  it  cannot  be  changed  anywhere  without  changing 
it  everywhere.  As  a  body  can  suffer  no  disease  in  any  limb  save  at  the 
expense  of  the  whole,  so  a  world  bound  up  as  one  can  afford  no  slum  or 
tyranny  anywhere.  .  .  . 

In  the  lives  of  this  generation  there  lies  dormant  the  power  to  lay  the 
foundations  of  a  transformed  world.  That  world  will  come,  if  it  does 
come,  through  the  rebuilding  and  renewal  of  human  life  in  a  civilization 
where  order  will  reign  without  tyranny  and  freedom  be  exercised  without 
anarchy,  a  world-commonwealth  of  good  will.  Such  a  commonwealth 
can  come,  as  Lord  Bryce  has  declared,  only  through  "a  change  of  heart 
in  the  peoples  of  the  world."  And  such  a  change  of  heart  can  emerge 
only  through  the  sustained  labor  of  a  manifold  moral  leadership  rooted 
in  spiritual  reality. 

We  must  have  the  will  of  God  organized  in  the  common  life  of  all 
peoples,  if  we  are  not  ultimately  to  have  the  will  of  Mammon  driving  all 
races  over  the  precipice  of  greater  wars  into  the  abyss  of  barbarism. 
There  is,  indeed,  only  one  standard  so  universal  in  its  range,  so  complete 
as  a  solution  of  the  evils  that  have  oppressed  man,  that  all  races  and  every 
civilization  can  find  in  it  a  final  and  unifying  aim  that  at  once  creates 
personal  character,  develops  national  strength,  and  gives  power  for  united 
progress.  That  standard  is  expressed  in  the  program  of  the  world  King- 
dom of  God. 

To  state  that  issue  thus  is  to  divide  all  who  face  it  into  those  who  on 
the  one  hand  believe  that  the  Christian  program  has  been  tried  and  found 
wanting  and  those  who  on  the  other  hand  hold,  as  G.  K.  Chesterton  has 
said,  that  it  "has  been  found  difficult  and  not  tried."  These  latter,  who, 
with  Matthew  Arnold's  Scholar-Gypsy,  are  "Still  nursing  the  uncon- 
querable hope,"  are  then  inevitably  led  to  the  decision  that  if  we  are  to 
witness  a  world  Kingdom  of  God,  men  everywhere  must  take  the  whole 
message  of  that  Kingdom  to  the  whole  world,  and  incorporate  its  funda- 
mental verities  of  spiritual  reality  and  moral  principle  in  the  individual, 
social,  national,  commercial,  international,  and  indeed  interracial  life  of 
all  humanity.  The  horizon,  as  President  Wilson  has  said,  is  now  "ulti- 
mate." That  Kingdom  can  admit  no  frontiers,  because  it  cannot  cease  its 
campaigns  till  it  has  brought  into  its  dominion  the  whole  life  of  all  men 
everywhere. 

As  a  war  is  carried  to  its  victorious  end  by  the  cooperation  of  all 
arms — on  sea  and  land  and  in  the  air — so  this  new  world  order  will  be 
triumphantly  achieved  only  through  the  free  enlistment  of  this  genera- 
tion of  young  men  and  women  for  the  common  service  of  the  civil 
servant,  the  teacher,  and  the  missionary;  the  artist,  the  doctor,  and  the 
nurse ;  the  soldier  and  sailor,  the  social  worker,  the  lawyer,  the  engineer, 
the  planter,  the  priest  and  the  prophet,  the  member  of  Parliament,  the 
parent,  and  the  merchant. 


SOLUTION  OF  FAR  EASTERN  PROBLEM?        167 

In  the  sustained  labor  of  such  a  manifold  moral  leadership,  rooted  in 
spiritual  reality  and  issuing  in  the  service  of  humanity,  lies  the  authentic 
hope  of  a  human  scene  in  which  the  confused  and  bitter  rivalries  of 
nations  will  be  changed  to  an  enduring  world-fraternity.  And  ultimately 
such  a  leadership  reposes  on  the  will-to-service  of  the  individual  men  and 
wom.en  who  can  say  now  in  their  young  strength — 

"I  can  devote  myself; 
I  have  a  life  to  give." 

— Basil  Mathews,  in  "Essays  on  Vocation,"  pp.  10-14. 


MOST  USEFUL  BOOKS  AND  PERIODICALS 

Bashford^  James  Whitford 
China;  an  Interpretation.    Rev.  and  Enlarged  Ed.  $2.50.    New  York, 
Abingdon  Press,  1919.    668p. 

♦Brown,  Arthur  Judson 

The  Mastery  of  the  Far  East ;  the  story  of  Korea's  transformation  and 
Japan's  rise  to  supremacy  in  the  Orient.  $6.00.  New  York,  Scrib- 
ner,  1919.    671P. 

Chung,  Henry 
The  Oriental  Policy  of  the  United  States;  with  introductory  note  by 
Jeremiah  W.  Jenks.    $2.00.     New  York,  Revell,  1919.    3o6p. 

GuLicK^  Sidney  L. 
America  and  the  Orient :  outline  of  a  constructive  policy.    25c.    New 
York,  Missionary  Education  Movement,  1916.     loop. 

♦Hornbeck,  Stanley  Kuhl 

Contemporary  Politics  in  the  Far  East.  $3.00.  New  York,  Appleton, 
1916.    466p. 

♦Kawakami,  Kiyoshi  Karl 
Japan  and  World  Peace.    $1.50.     New  York,  Macmillan,  1919.     196?. 

Kawakami,  Kiyoshi  Karl 
Japan  in  World  Politics.    $1.50.     New  York,  Macmillan,  1917.    23OP. 

McKenzie,  Frederick  Arthur 

Korea's  Fight  for  Freedom.    $2.00.     New  York,  Revell,  1920.    32op. 

♦Millard,  Thomas  Franklin  Fairfax 

Democracy  and  the  Eastern  Question;  the  Problem  of  the  Far  East 
as  Demonstrated  by  the  Great  War,  and  Its  Relation  to  the  United 
States  of  America.    $3.00.     New  York,  Century,  1919.    446p. 

♦Powers,  Harry  Huntington 
America   among  the   Nations,   $1.50.    New  York,   Macmillan,   1917. 
373P- 
Speer,  Robert  Elliott 
The  Gospel  and  the  New  World.    $2.00.    New  York,  Revell,  1919. 
313P. 

The  current  periodicals  carry  much  material  on  the  Far  East.    The 
more  important  of  these  magazines  are  indexed  in  the  Readers'  Guide 

♦The  five  books  starred  are  perhaps  most  useful,  if  the  inclusive  list  can- 
not be  made  available. 

169 


170         AMERICA'S   STAKE  IN"  THE  FAR  EAST 

to  Periodical  Literature  and  the  Readers'  Guide  Supplement,  appearing 
monthly.  These  can  be  consulted  in  almost  any  library  of  size.  See 
under  headings  China,  Chinese,  Japan,  Japanese,  Korea,  Korean,  Far 
East,  etc.  The  most  useful  single  magazine  is  doubtless  Asia,  "the 
American  magazine  on  the  Orient,"  627  Lexington  Avenue,  New  York 
City,  $3.00  a  year.  The  magazine  is  prevailingly  sympathetic  with  China, 
but  gives  from  time  to  time  a  vigorous  presentation  of  Japan's  point  of 
view  by  Japanese  writers.  The  magazine  deals,  of  course,  with  all  of 
Asia.  Millard's  Review  and  the  Far  Eastern  Review,  both  published  at 
Shanghai,  and  the  Trans-Pacific,  published  at  Tokyo,  are  also  useful. 

For  the  pro- Japanese  point  of  view,  secure  the  East  and  West  News, 
issued  weekly  by  the  East  and  West  News  Bureau,  Woolworth  Building, 
New  York  City.  For  the  pro-Chinese  point  of  view,  secure  the  weekly 
Bulletin  from  the  Far  Eastern  Bureau,  13  Astor  Place,  New  York  City, 
For  the  point  of  view  of  the  American  Protestant  Churches,  write  for  the 
publications  of  the  Committee  on  Relations  with  the  Orient  of  the  Federal 
Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America,  105  East  22d  Street,  New 
York  City.  For  articles  on  Christian  progress  in  the  nations  of  the 
Orient  see  the  monthly  numbers  of  the  Missionary  Review  of  the  World, 
and  of  World  Outlook,  New  York  City.  The  outstanding  Christian  peri- 
odicals published  in  the  Far  East  are  the  Chinese  Recorder,  Shanghai, 
and  the  Japan  Evangelist,  Tokyo. 


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